On Friday, September 27, 1861, a contentious cabinet meeting was held in General Winfield Scott's office with Major General George McClellan attending. The main topics were the war and the inactivity of McClellan's army. There was a general feeling that the war should have been over by now and most present wanted to know why it wasn't. McClellan was still training and drilling his green recruits into a fighting force and would not be ready to move for several more months.
Showing posts with label George McClellan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George McClellan. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
150 Years Ago -- McClellan Goes Ballooning
Image of Thaddeus Lowe via WikipediaOn September 7, 1861, Union Major General George McClellan, commander of the Army of the Potomac, went ballooning with Thaddeus Lowe.
Lowe had been posted near Arlington, Virginia, at Fort Corcoran since his balloon was completed on August 28. He conducted aerial reconnaissance and took several generals, reporters and artists aloft. Just two days before McClellan's first flight, Lowe had gone aloft with Generals Irvin McDowell and Fitz John Porter.
McClellan observed the Confederate fortifications at nearby Munson's Hill and Clark's Hill, and got a view of Washington similar to this one that appeared in the July 27, 1861 edition of Harper's Weekly. It is unclear how many flights McClellan made, but he saw the value of the balloon as a military asset, and Lowe soon received an order to construct four more balloons and purchase portable gas generators.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
150 Years Ago -- Mutiny
On Wednesday, August 14, 1861, Union General George McClellan put down a mutiny in his army by men of the 79th New York Infantry Regiment.
The 79th New York, originally organized in July 1859 as a Scottish-American fraternity in New York City, was quickly mobilized after Fort Sumter. Some recruitment brought the unit up to strength, then they marched down Broadway to Washington.
At the Battle of Bull Run, the 79th, then a part of Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman's Third Brigade, suffered heavy casualties. Their commander, Colonel James Cameron, brother of Secretary of War Simon Cameron, was killed in the fighting on Henry Hill.
After the battle, they were put to work building defensive works around Washington, digging trenches with picks and shovels. One New Yorker declared, "Spades were trumps and everyman had a full hand."
On the morning of August 14, the 79th New York rebelled, refusing to do any more work until their grievances were addressed. In addition to the back-breaking work, they were also upset that they hadn't been allowed to vote for a new colonel to lead them. Cameron's replacement, Colonel Isaac Stevens, had been appointed to lead them.
McClellan moved quickly to quash the mutiny. The 79th New York was quickly surrounded by a battalion of regular army troops with loaded firearms. The 79th gave up. Twenty-one soldiers, the ringleaders of the mutiny, were sent to prison in the Dry Tortugas.
Also on this date, in Missouri, Union General John Frémont declared martial law in St. Louis.
The 79th New York, originally organized in July 1859 as a Scottish-American fraternity in New York City, was quickly mobilized after Fort Sumter. Some recruitment brought the unit up to strength, then they marched down Broadway to Washington.
At the Battle of Bull Run, the 79th, then a part of Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman's Third Brigade, suffered heavy casualties. Their commander, Colonel James Cameron, brother of Secretary of War Simon Cameron, was killed in the fighting on Henry Hill.
After the battle, they were put to work building defensive works around Washington, digging trenches with picks and shovels. One New Yorker declared, "Spades were trumps and everyman had a full hand."
On the morning of August 14, the 79th New York rebelled, refusing to do any more work until their grievances were addressed. In addition to the back-breaking work, they were also upset that they hadn't been allowed to vote for a new colonel to lead them. Cameron's replacement, Colonel Isaac Stevens, had been appointed to lead them.
McClellan moved quickly to quash the mutiny. The 79th New York was quickly surrounded by a battalion of regular army troops with loaded firearms. The 79th gave up. Twenty-one soldiers, the ringleaders of the mutiny, were sent to prison in the Dry Tortugas.
Also on this date, in Missouri, Union General John Frémont declared martial law in St. Louis.
Saturday, August 06, 2011
150 Years Ago -- A Lull
Events moved swiftly after the war began at Fort Sumter, but there was a lull in the aftermath of the Battle of Bull Run as both sides paused to reassess the situation. An update:
As the dog days of August 1861 began the war was starting to take shape along the border or what historian Bruce Catton called "that cross section of nineteenth-century America that ran for a thousand miles from Virginia tidewater to the plains of Kansas, reaching from the place of the nation's oldest traditions to the rude frontier where no tradition ran back farther than the day before yesterday."
In eastern Virginia, between the two capitols of Washington and Richmond, the two armies, both called the Army of the Potomac, were licking their wounds after Bull Run. The "Forward to Richmond" sentiment and the belief in a short war were over. Both commanders, George McClellan and Joe Johnston, were working hard now, organizing, drilling and equipping their men. It would be many months before they would face off again.
After resigning his commission in the U.S. Army and going south, Robert E. Lee had been put in charge of Virginia's state troops. He was briefly unemployed when those troops were put under Confederate control, but he became the top military adviser to Virginia Governor John Letcher, then to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Lee was sent to western Virginia to try to salvage the situation there after the Union victory at Rich Mountain. Lee arrived on August 1, charged with "combining all our forces in western Virginia on one plan of operations." Lee would soon find that it was impossible to get everyone on the same page.
The Federals had about 11,000 soldiers in the region. Brigadier General Jacob Cox commanded a force of 2700 in the Kanawha Valley. There were some small detachments in the north guarding key points along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the only direct link between Washington and the West. Brigadier General William Rosecrans commanded the rest near Cheat Mountain.
Brigadier General W. W. Loring commanded the principal Confederate force, some 10,000 men, at Huntersville. Lee joined up with this contingent that was facing Rosecrans's army. Farther south, two politicians, former Virginia Governor Henry Wise and former U.S. Secretary of War John Floyd, commanded separate forces facing Cox. Wise and Floyd would spend more time competing against each other for authority than they ever would against Cox.
Farther west, the war was not being fought at all in Kentucky as both sides endeavored for a time to respect the state's proclaimed neutrality. Both sides badly needed Kentucky. Lincoln would soon remark, "I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game." The state served as a big shield separating the two powers. A Confederate Kentucky would move the border all the way up to the Ohio River, depriving the Federals of a base from which to launch an offensive in the Mississippi Valley. If the Union took the state, Tennessee and the Mississippi River would be threatened. Neither side could afford to antagonize the state and push it to the other side, but both sides had camps either in the state or just outside its borders, rallying Kentuckians to their respective causes.
The next major conflagration of the war would take place on the far west end of the border in Missouri. Union Major General John Frémont arrived on July 25 to take command of the Department of the West.
Frémont was a career U.S. Army officer, but he had come up through the Topographical Corps, where he had become famous as "The Pathfinder," charting trails to the West. In 1856, he had become the first presidential nominee of the new Republican Party. Now he was in over his head. As Catton put it in Terrible Swift Sword, "Now he was in Missouri, a bewildering jungle where a trail could be blazed only by a man gifted with a profound understanding of the American character, the talents of a canny politician, and enormous skill as an administrator. Of these gifts General Frémont had hardly a trace."
Frémont had a big job to do, but little to do it with. He was expected to secure the state and also to organize an army and lead it down the Mississippi toward New Orleans, reopening the river to commerce and isolating the western part of the Confederacy.
He had about 23,000 troops, but about a third of those were three-month volunteers whose terms were about to expire. He was receiving new recruits, but had few arms, uniforms or other equipment, few rations and no money. Guerrilla warfare was becoming rampant in the state, and like many other commanders he was exaggerating the number of enemy troops he was facing. He thought he faced about 25,000 state militia with another 50,000 Confederate soldiers in Arkansas and Tennessee ready to invade. In actuality, he faced about half that number of both.
Nathaniel Lyon had done much to keep Missouri in the Union, but he had been blunt about it, forcing almost everyone in the state to choose sides. He had moved quickly and thwarted a plot by Governor Claiborne Jackson to capture the arsenal at St. Louis. In May, he had surrounded and captured some state militia legally encamped near St. Louis, then when he marched them through the town, it touched off a riot that left some two dozen civilians dead. One of the Missourians who had chosen a side was Sterling Price, now in charge of most of the remaining state militia. Price was fighting not so much for the Confederacy but to try to keep the war from engulfing the state.
Lyon had gone on to declare war on Price and Jackson, and had driven them away from the capital of Jefferson City. Then he had routed the militia at Boonsville and pursued them to the southwest corner of the state. His actions had allowed the Union men of the state to declare state offices vacant and to set up a new pro-Union government with Hamilton Gamble as governor. But Lyon was now in a bad predicament. He had advanced too far and was at the end of a long, precarious supply line. He wrote to Frémont, asking for reinforcements and confessing that he now could not attack, stay where he was, or even conduct an orderly retreat.
Frémont, with much to do and little to do it with, decided his best bet was to reinforce the key town of Cairo, Illinois, where the Ohio River met the Mississippi. He told Lyon to do the best he could and sent a few reinforcements, but Lyon would not see them. He would die on August 10 at the Battle of Wilson's Creek.
As the dog days of August 1861 began the war was starting to take shape along the border or what historian Bruce Catton called "that cross section of nineteenth-century America that ran for a thousand miles from Virginia tidewater to the plains of Kansas, reaching from the place of the nation's oldest traditions to the rude frontier where no tradition ran back farther than the day before yesterday."
In eastern Virginia, between the two capitols of Washington and Richmond, the two armies, both called the Army of the Potomac, were licking their wounds after Bull Run. The "Forward to Richmond" sentiment and the belief in a short war were over. Both commanders, George McClellan and Joe Johnston, were working hard now, organizing, drilling and equipping their men. It would be many months before they would face off again.
After resigning his commission in the U.S. Army and going south, Robert E. Lee had been put in charge of Virginia's state troops. He was briefly unemployed when those troops were put under Confederate control, but he became the top military adviser to Virginia Governor John Letcher, then to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Lee was sent to western Virginia to try to salvage the situation there after the Union victory at Rich Mountain. Lee arrived on August 1, charged with "combining all our forces in western Virginia on one plan of operations." Lee would soon find that it was impossible to get everyone on the same page.
The Federals had about 11,000 soldiers in the region. Brigadier General Jacob Cox commanded a force of 2700 in the Kanawha Valley. There were some small detachments in the north guarding key points along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the only direct link between Washington and the West. Brigadier General William Rosecrans commanded the rest near Cheat Mountain.
Brigadier General W. W. Loring commanded the principal Confederate force, some 10,000 men, at Huntersville. Lee joined up with this contingent that was facing Rosecrans's army. Farther south, two politicians, former Virginia Governor Henry Wise and former U.S. Secretary of War John Floyd, commanded separate forces facing Cox. Wise and Floyd would spend more time competing against each other for authority than they ever would against Cox.
Farther west, the war was not being fought at all in Kentucky as both sides endeavored for a time to respect the state's proclaimed neutrality. Both sides badly needed Kentucky. Lincoln would soon remark, "I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game." The state served as a big shield separating the two powers. A Confederate Kentucky would move the border all the way up to the Ohio River, depriving the Federals of a base from which to launch an offensive in the Mississippi Valley. If the Union took the state, Tennessee and the Mississippi River would be threatened. Neither side could afford to antagonize the state and push it to the other side, but both sides had camps either in the state or just outside its borders, rallying Kentuckians to their respective causes.
The next major conflagration of the war would take place on the far west end of the border in Missouri. Union Major General John Frémont arrived on July 25 to take command of the Department of the West.
Frémont was a career U.S. Army officer, but he had come up through the Topographical Corps, where he had become famous as "The Pathfinder," charting trails to the West. In 1856, he had become the first presidential nominee of the new Republican Party. Now he was in over his head. As Catton put it in Terrible Swift Sword, "Now he was in Missouri, a bewildering jungle where a trail could be blazed only by a man gifted with a profound understanding of the American character, the talents of a canny politician, and enormous skill as an administrator. Of these gifts General Frémont had hardly a trace."
Frémont had a big job to do, but little to do it with. He was expected to secure the state and also to organize an army and lead it down the Mississippi toward New Orleans, reopening the river to commerce and isolating the western part of the Confederacy.
He had about 23,000 troops, but about a third of those were three-month volunteers whose terms were about to expire. He was receiving new recruits, but had few arms, uniforms or other equipment, few rations and no money. Guerrilla warfare was becoming rampant in the state, and like many other commanders he was exaggerating the number of enemy troops he was facing. He thought he faced about 25,000 state militia with another 50,000 Confederate soldiers in Arkansas and Tennessee ready to invade. In actuality, he faced about half that number of both.
Nathaniel Lyon had done much to keep Missouri in the Union, but he had been blunt about it, forcing almost everyone in the state to choose sides. He had moved quickly and thwarted a plot by Governor Claiborne Jackson to capture the arsenal at St. Louis. In May, he had surrounded and captured some state militia legally encamped near St. Louis, then when he marched them through the town, it touched off a riot that left some two dozen civilians dead. One of the Missourians who had chosen a side was Sterling Price, now in charge of most of the remaining state militia. Price was fighting not so much for the Confederacy but to try to keep the war from engulfing the state.
Lyon had gone on to declare war on Price and Jackson, and had driven them away from the capital of Jefferson City. Then he had routed the militia at Boonsville and pursued them to the southwest corner of the state. His actions had allowed the Union men of the state to declare state offices vacant and to set up a new pro-Union government with Hamilton Gamble as governor. But Lyon was now in a bad predicament. He had advanced too far and was at the end of a long, precarious supply line. He wrote to Frémont, asking for reinforcements and confessing that he now could not attack, stay where he was, or even conduct an orderly retreat.
Frémont, with much to do and little to do it with, decided his best bet was to reinforce the key town of Cairo, Illinois, where the Ohio River met the Mississippi. He told Lyon to do the best he could and sent a few reinforcements, but Lyon would not see them. He would die on August 10 at the Battle of Wilson's Creek.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
150 Years Ago: McClellan Takes Command
Image via WikipediaOn July 27, 1861, Major General George McClellan was appointed commander of the Federal Division of the Potomac.
The Division of the Potomac consisted of Irvin McDowell's Department of Northeastern Virginia and Joseph Mansfield's Department of Washington. Nathaniel Banks's Department of the Shenandoah was also added to McClellan's purview. The armies of these departments were combined to form the Army of the Potomac.
McClellan, 34, was one of the first Northern heroes of the war after his recent successes in western Virginia. On the day he took command in Washington, he wrote home to his wife Ellen* about his experiences...
...I find myself in a new & strange position here -- Presdt, Cabinet, Genl Scott & all deferring to me -- by some strange operation of magic I seem to have become the power of the land. I almost think that were I to win some small success now I could become Dictator or anything else that might please me -- but nothing of that kind would please me -- therefore I won't be Dictator. Admirable self denial! I see already the main causes of our recent failure -- I am sure that I can remedy these & am confident that I can lead these armies of men to victory once more...
Just after the rout and panic at Bull Run, the War Department began the work of gathering up the scattered army by setting up rallying points around the city of Washington and announcing that they would be the only places where rations would be distributed. The three-month volunteers that did not reenlist were sent home and Northern governors hurried new three-year volunteers to the city.
McClellan quickly went to work shaping his new army -- rounding up stragglers, weeding out incompetent officers and training the new recruits to be soldiers.
*The letters from McClellan to his wife are widely quoted in books on the Civil War, but there is some controversy about their authenticity and accuracy. The originals are gone, but portions were copied into a notebook by McClellan. His daughter, working with the original letters, added to the transcripts later. For more on the letters, check out two posts at Civil War Bookshelf -- Dimitri Rotov's problems with the letters and Stephen Sears's response.
Monday, July 25, 2011
150 Years Ago: Changes
On Thursday, July 25, 1861, several changes occurred in the wake of the Battle of Bull Run.
Union General George McClellan arrived in Washington to replace Irvin McDowell. A general order was issued outlining the extent of his new command. General William Rosecrans replaced McClellan as commander of the Department of the Ohio and the "Army of Occupation, Western Virginia."
Nathaniel Banks replaced Robert Patterson as commander of the Army of the Shenandoah. Patterson, 69, had done a poor job of containing General Joseph E. Johnston's army in the Shenandoah Valley, allowing the Confederates to join with Beauregard at Bull Run. Patterson was relieved of command and given an honorable discharge, ending his service in the Civil War.
General John Frémont finally arrived in St. Louis to take over the newly created Department of the West. Frémont had been named to the command on July 3, and had spent much of the intervening time in New York trying to buy weapons and supplies.
Union General Jacob Cox, commanding the Kanawha Brigade of the Department of the Ohio, got behind Henry Wise's position at Tyler Mountain on July 24, forcing Wise to retreat to Charleston, Virginia (now West Virginia). As Cox approached the town, Wise retreated again. The Federals occupied the town on July 25.
The U.S. Senate passed the Crittenden-Johnson Resolution by a vote of 30-to-5. The House had previously approved the measure on July 22. The resolution stated that the war was being fought "to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and to preserve the Union" and not for "overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States." The measure was seen as necessary for keeping the slave states of Kentucky, Missouri and Maryland in the Union, but in a couple of weeks Lincoln would sign a confiscation act allowing for the seizure of property, including slaves, from rebellious citizens.
Robert M. T. Hunter replaced Robert Toombs as the Confederate Secretary of State. Toombs, the only member of Jefferson Davis's cabinet to voice opposition to the attack on Fort Sumter, had resigned to join the Confederate army. He received a commission as a brigadier general on July 19, and served as a brigade commander in Joe Johnston's Confederate Army of the Potomac.
At Mesilla, in New Mexico Territory, the Union garrison at Fort Fillmore attacked John Baylor's Confederates in a brief skirmish. The Union assault was repulsed and they eventually retreated back to the fort. When Baylor moved on the fort the following day, the Union troops abandoned it and retreated toward Fort Stanton. Baylor pursued, capturing stragglers by the dozens before overtaking the Federals and forcing their surrender at San Augustine Springs on July 27.
Union General George McClellan arrived in Washington to replace Irvin McDowell. A general order was issued outlining the extent of his new command. General William Rosecrans replaced McClellan as commander of the Department of the Ohio and the "Army of Occupation, Western Virginia."
Nathaniel Banks replaced Robert Patterson as commander of the Army of the Shenandoah. Patterson, 69, had done a poor job of containing General Joseph E. Johnston's army in the Shenandoah Valley, allowing the Confederates to join with Beauregard at Bull Run. Patterson was relieved of command and given an honorable discharge, ending his service in the Civil War.
General John Frémont finally arrived in St. Louis to take over the newly created Department of the West. Frémont had been named to the command on July 3, and had spent much of the intervening time in New York trying to buy weapons and supplies.
Union General Jacob Cox, commanding the Kanawha Brigade of the Department of the Ohio, got behind Henry Wise's position at Tyler Mountain on July 24, forcing Wise to retreat to Charleston, Virginia (now West Virginia). As Cox approached the town, Wise retreated again. The Federals occupied the town on July 25.
The U.S. Senate passed the Crittenden-Johnson Resolution by a vote of 30-to-5. The House had previously approved the measure on July 22. The resolution stated that the war was being fought "to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and to preserve the Union" and not for "overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States." The measure was seen as necessary for keeping the slave states of Kentucky, Missouri and Maryland in the Union, but in a couple of weeks Lincoln would sign a confiscation act allowing for the seizure of property, including slaves, from rebellious citizens.
Robert M. T. Hunter replaced Robert Toombs as the Confederate Secretary of State. Toombs, the only member of Jefferson Davis's cabinet to voice opposition to the attack on Fort Sumter, had resigned to join the Confederate army. He received a commission as a brigadier general on July 19, and served as a brigade commander in Joe Johnston's Confederate Army of the Potomac.
At Mesilla, in New Mexico Territory, the Union garrison at Fort Fillmore attacked John Baylor's Confederates in a brief skirmish. The Union assault was repulsed and they eventually retreated back to the fort. When Baylor moved on the fort the following day, the Union troops abandoned it and retreated toward Fort Stanton. Baylor pursued, capturing stragglers by the dozens before overtaking the Federals and forcing their surrender at San Augustine Springs on July 27.
Friday, July 22, 2011
150 Years Ago: The Aftermath of Bull Run
Image via WikipediaMonday, July 22, 1861. George Templeton Strong declared in his diary, "Today will be known as BLACK MONDAY. We are utterly and disgracefully routed, beaten, whipped by secessionists."
Union General Irvin McDowell's army had been routed by the Confederates at Bull Run. The rout met up with the mother of all traffic jams at the bridge over Cub Run, and suddenly the rout had become a panic. The army practically sprinted back to Washington. The citizens there were astonished to see this tired, beaten rabble stream back into the city, and feared that a Confederate invasion was imminent.
And the casualties were staggering -- 450-500 killed, 1100 wounded, and a staggering 1500-1800 missing. The hospitals were quickly filled to overflowing.
The bars were full too. Walt Whitman wrote in Memoranda During the War,
As afternoon pass'd, and evening came, the streets, the bar-rooms, knots everywhere, listeners, questioners, terrible yarns, bugaboo, mask'd batteries, our regiment all cut up, &c. -- stories and storytellers, windy, bragging, vain centres of street-crowds. Resolution, manliness, seem to have abandon'd Washington. The principle hotel, Willard's, is full of shoulder-straps -- thick, crush'd, creeping with shoulder-straps. (I see them, and must have a word with them. There you are shoulder-straps! -- but where are your companies? Where are your men? Incompetents! never tell me of chances of battle, of getting stray'd, and the like. I think this is your work, this retreat, after all. Sneak, blow, put on airs, there in Willard's sumptuous parlors and bar-rooms, or anywhere -- no explanation will save you. Bull Run is your work; had you been half or one-tenth worthy your men, this would never have happen'd.)
Horace Greeley, whose editorials and "Forward to Richmond" headlines in the New York Herald had helped bring this battle on, was beside himself with grief. In a few days he would write to Lincoln, "If it is best for the country and for mankind that we make peace with the Rebels at once and on their own terms, do not shrink even from that."
Confederate President Jefferson Davis finished work early on July 21st. He then chartered a train to Manassas Junction, arriving while the battle was raging. Coming up from the rear, he encountered the remnants of used up units, stragglers, malingerers, and concluded that the battle was lost. But he finally met up with his generals, Johnston and Beauregard, and discovered the true magnitude of the victory. He urged a vigorous pursuit. Johnston still had a few fresh troops, but nothing ever came of it.
The Confederate army was badly disorganized, and their casualties were staggering too -- 400 killed, 1600 wounded, some mortally, including Barnard Bee, who died on July 22. He was the one who had given Thomas Jackson the appellation "Stonewall."
There was some controversy about what Bee said, and whether he meant it in a complimentary manner. One witness claimed that Bee was complaining about Jackson not engaging his men in battle. "Look at Jackson standing there like a damned stone wall." Or did he realize that Jackson was forming the final line that must be held. "Look! There is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!" Whatever the accurate quote or the meaning behind the quote, the name stuck to Jackson and Bee was not around to settle the controversy.
The Confederate army rounded up a whole horde of prisoners, some 1200, including a U.S. congressman, and collected all manner of equipment that had been abandoned by the Union soldiers in their flight.
This decisive battle would not decide the war. Far from it. The North would redouble its efforts.
Lincoln met with General-in-Chief Winfield Scott and his cabinet through the night of July 21-22. They sent wires to General George McClellan in the mountains of western Virginia first telling him to move his army into the Shenandoah Valley, then to stay where he was and await reinforcements, then telling McClellan to report to Washington.
The day after the battle, July 22, Lincoln signed a bill for the enlistment of 500,000 three-year volunteers, then three days later signed another bill for 500,000 more. McClellan would soon take command of a new army of these three-year volunteers, the Army of the Potomac.
In the South, the mood was jubilant, with many thinking that independence was just around the corner. In the coming weeks though, many would wonder why the Confederate army had not finished up the victory and driven on to Washington. Fingers would be pointed at each of the principals, Johnston, Beauregard, and Davis, and the controversy would swirl for many years. Each man wrote a postwar memoir that kept the issue alive.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
150 Years Ago: Movements and Proclamations
There would be a battle around Bull Run in the area around Manassas Junction soon, but on July 19, 1861, Union General Irvin McDowell was concerned about concentrating his army around Centreville, Virginia, and feeding them.
The Army of Northeastern Virginia had marched from the environs of Washington to within just a couple of miles of General P. G. T. Beauregard's position behind Bull Run, but the 22-mile march had taken two and a half days. The green troops led by green commanders had marched so slowly that they had eaten all their rations and now McDowell was waiting for wagon trains to resupply them. The line had also strung out through the north Virginia countryside, and McDowell would have to wait another couple of days for all the stragglers to catch up.
Out in the Shenandoah Valley, Union General Robert Patterson had maneuvered himself completely out of the action, leaving General Joe Johnston free to take his army out of the valley and link up with Beauregard's army at Manassas. Johnston marched south, then took the Manassas Gap Railroad straight to Beauregard. Some of his troops were already arriving at Manassas Junction, but some would still be arriving as the battle was raging on July 21.
After yesterday's reconnaissance-in-force at Blackburn's Ford had been repulsed, McDowell was considering a flanking move around the Confederate left.
Also on this date, in western Virginia, Union General George McClellan issued a proclamation praising his army for their recent victories:
Union General John Pope issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of northern Missouri:
The Army of Northeastern Virginia had marched from the environs of Washington to within just a couple of miles of General P. G. T. Beauregard's position behind Bull Run, but the 22-mile march had taken two and a half days. The green troops led by green commanders had marched so slowly that they had eaten all their rations and now McDowell was waiting for wagon trains to resupply them. The line had also strung out through the north Virginia countryside, and McDowell would have to wait another couple of days for all the stragglers to catch up.
Out in the Shenandoah Valley, Union General Robert Patterson had maneuvered himself completely out of the action, leaving General Joe Johnston free to take his army out of the valley and link up with Beauregard's army at Manassas. Johnston marched south, then took the Manassas Gap Railroad straight to Beauregard. Some of his troops were already arriving at Manassas Junction, but some would still be arriving as the battle was raging on July 21.
After yesterday's reconnaissance-in-force at Blackburn's Ford had been repulsed, McDowell was considering a flanking move around the Confederate left.
Also on this date, in western Virginia, Union General George McClellan issued a proclamation praising his army for their recent victories:
Headquarters army of Occupation, Western Virginia, Beverly, Va., July 19, 1861.
soldiers of the army of the West:
I am more than satisfied with you. You have annihilated two armies, commanded by educated and experienced soldiers, intrenched in mountain fastnesses and fortified at their leisure. You have taken five guns, twelve colors, fifteen hundred stand of arms, one thousand prisoners, including more than forty officers. One of the second commanders of the rebels is a prisoner, the other lost his life on the field of battle. You have killed more than two hundred and fifty of the enemy, who has lost all his baggage and camp equipage. All this has been accomplished with the loss of twenty brave men killed and sixty wounded on your part.
You have proved that Union men, fighting for the preservation of our Government, are more than a match for our misguided and erring brothers. More than this, you have shown mercy to the vanquished. You have made long and arduous marches, with insufficient food, frequently exposed to the inclemency of the weather. I have not hesitated to demand this of you, feeling that I could rely on your endurance, patriotism, and courage. In the future I may have still greater demands to make upon you, still greater sacrifices for you to offer. It shall be my care to provide for you to the extent of my ability; but I know now that, by your valor and endurance, you will accomplish all that is asked.
Soldiers! I have confidence in you, and I trust you have learned to confide in me. Remember that discipline and subordination are qualities of equal value with courage. I am proud to say that you have gained the highest reward that American troops can receive — the thanks of Congress and the applause of your fellow-citizens.
Geo. B. Mcclellan, Major-General.
Union General John Pope issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of northern Missouri:
St. Charles, Mo., July 19, 1861.
To the People of North Missouri:
By virtue of proper authority, I have assumed the command in North Missouri. I appear among you with force strong enough to maintain the authority of the Government, and too strong to be resisted by any means in your possession usual in warfare. Upon your own assurances that you would respect the laws of the United States and preserve peace, no troops have hitherto been sent into your section of the country. The occurrences of the last ten days have plainly exhibited that you lack either the power or the inclination to fulfil your pledges, and the Government, has, therefore, found it necessary to occupy North Missouri with a force large enough to compel obedience to the laws. So soon as it is made manifest that you will respect its authority and put down unlawful combinations against it, you will be relieved of the presence of the forces under my command, but not till then.
I, therefore, warn all persons taken in arms against the Federal authority, who attempt to commit depredation upon public or private property, or who molest unoffending and peaceful citizens, that they will be dealt with in the most summary manner, without awaiting civil process.
Jno. Pope, Brigadier.General U. S. A., Commanding.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Armies: The Army of Northeastern Virginia (USA)
Image of Irvin McDowell and George McClellan via WikipediaThe Department of Northeastern Virginia was created on May 27, 1861, and Brigadier General Irvin McDowell was placed in command of its army.
McDowell was responsible for the area of Virginia in front of Washington. He was expected to take the raw volunteers that were streaming in, the first units to respond to Lincoln's call for militia after Fort Sumter, and somehow organize them into an army. Before he could do this, the government and popular opinion prodded him into an advance on General P. G. T. Beauregard's Confederate Army of the Potomac.
The Army of Northeastern Virginia was routed at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. After the defeat, on July 25, the Department of Northeastern Virginia was abolished and merged into the Military Department of the Potomac, then formed the nucleus of Major General George McClellan's Army of the Potomac.
Prior to the First Battle of Bull Run, the Army of Northeastern Virginia was the largest ever assembled in American history, some 30,000-35,000 men. Many of these early recruits were signed to three-month enlistments, limiting McDowell's options. Some units' enlistments ran out on the eve of the battle, and they returned home to muster out rather than fight.
The Army of Northeastern Virginia consisted of five divisions led by Brigadier General Daniel Tyler, Colonel David Hunter, Colonel Samuel Heintzelman, Brigadier General Theodore Runyon, and Colonel D. S. Miles. Runyon's Fourth Division was held in reserve.
There was also a unit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers and another from the United States Topographical Engineers, a balloon detachment.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
150 Years Ago: Corrick's Ford
Image of Robert Garnett via WikipediaOn July 13, 1861, military operations in the aftermath of the battle of Rich Mountain came to an end. The Confederate forces under Colonel John Pegram surrendered to George McClellan, and Union General Thomas Morris's Indiana brigade caught up to Robert Garnett's retreating Confederates near Corrick's Ford on the Cheat River.
The two forces fought a running skirmish and Garnett deployed skirmishers to cover his retreat. As he was attempting to recall the skirmishers and move to another nearby ford, he was shot and killed by a Union volley. Garnett was the first general officer on either side to be killed during the war. The Confederates retreated in disarray, leaving behind a cannon, forty wagons and their commander's body.
In recognition of his service and two brevets for gallantry in the Mexican War, a Union honor guard conveyed his body to his relatives, who buried him in Baltimore, Maryland. Four years later, the family exhumed Garnett's remains and secretly re-interred him in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, next to his wife and son, who had died before the war. His grave was unmarked for fears of anti-Southern sentiments. In May 2011, a small headstone was placed on his grave next to the family's larger marker.
The Confederates were gone and the region was securely in Federal hands. Although he had planned the excursion into western Virginia and the Rich Mountain campaign, George McClellan received accolades far out of proportion to his actual participation in the battles. He became the North's first war hero.
Also on this date, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon, "Double-Quick Step to Richmond." Almost everyone, North and South, thought that this would be a quick war, and "Forward to Richmond" was the cry in the North, especially from Horace Greeley's New York Tribune. The pressure was on for General Irvin McDowell to march his army south to capture the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia, and end the war. After McDowell's ignominious defeat at the Battle of Bull Run, McClellan was called to Washington to take command of the Army of the Potomac, leaving William Rosecrans in command in western Virginia.
Also, John Clark (D-Mo.) became the first representative ever to be expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives. By a vote of 94 to 45 Clark was expelled for taking up arms against the Union. He was a brigadier general in the pro-secessionist Missouri State Guard. He was a senator in the First Confederate Congress and a representative in the Second Confederate Congress.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
150 Years Ago: Mopping Up
Image of George McClellan via WikipediaOn July 12, 1861, the forces under Union General George McClellan were busy following up their victory the previous day at Rich Mountain in western Virginia (now West Virginia).
With Union forces in their rear, the Confederate positions at Rich Mountain and Laurel Mountain were in jeopardy. During the night of July 11-12, General Robert Garnett and Colonel John Pegram evacuated the positions at Laurel Mountain and Rich Mountain, respectively. Both headed toward Beverly.
Garnett made it to the turnpike that led south to Beverly, but he was erroneously informed that the enemy had already occupied that town. He headed northeast on much more primitive roads.
Pegram's men passed through Beverly and headed north on the turnpike toward Leadsville. The men were demoralized, exhausted, and hungry, and Pegram stopped and made camp by the Tygart River. After conferring with his officers, he finally decided to surrender to McClellan.
near Tygart's valley River, six miles from Beverly, July 12, 1861.In the early morning hours of July 12, the Federals advanced to find the Confederates gone. McClellan occupied the camp at the Rich Mountain gap, then proceeded on to Beverly, occupying the town around noon. From there, he replied to Pegram the following day:
To Commanding Officer of Northern Forces, Beverly, Va.:
sir: I write to state to you that I have, in consequence of the retreat of General Garnett, and the jaded and reduced condition of my command, most of them having been without food for two days, concluded, with the concurrence of a majority of my captains and field officers, to surrender my command to you tomorrow, as prisoners of war. I have only to add, I trust they will only receive at your hands such treatment as has been invariably shown to the northern prisoners by the South.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
John Pegram, Lieutenant-Colonel P. A. C. S., Com'dg.
Headquarters, Department of the Ohio, Beverly, Va., July 13, 1861.Meanwhile, General Thomas Morris's men took up the pursuit of Garnett. They were easy to trail over the muddy roads by following the footprints and the discarded equipment. Morris caught up to them and fought a running battle the following day.
John Pegram, Esq., styling himself Lieutenant-Colonel, P. A. C. S.:
sir: Your communication dated yesterday, proposing the surrender as prisoners of war of the force assembled under your command, has been delivered to me. As commander of this department, I will receive you and them with the kindness due to prisoners of war, but it is not in my power to relieve you or them from any liabilities incurred by taking arms against the United States.
I am, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
Geo. B. McClellan, Maj.-Gen. U. S. A., Commanding Department.
Also on this date, Albert Pike concluded another treaty between the Confederate government and the tribes in the Indian Territory; this one was with the Choctaws and Chickasaws.
Unrelated to the Civil War, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok fought his first gunfight on this date at Rock Creek Station in Nebraska. It wasn't much of a fight since the other participants were unarmed.
Details are sketchy, but Dave McCanles showed up with two friend and his 12-year-old son. He wanted some money that was due him and got into a heated argument with the stationmaster. One version has Hickok intervening and McCanles threatening to drag him outside and beat him. "There will be one less son-of-a-bitch when you try that," Hickok supposedly replied. When McCanles moved toward him, Hickok shot him in the chest with a rifle. Another version has Hickok shooting McCanles while hiding behind a curtain.
The other two men attempted to flee, but were wounded by Hickok and killed by the other station employees.
At the trial, the McCanles son was not allowed to testify, or even to enter the courtroom. The jury heard only testimony from the station employees and ruled that they had acted in self defense.
In 1867, Harper's New Monthly Magazine published a greatly embellished account of the incident, claiming that Hickok had faced down the deadly McCanles Gang and killed nine men single-handedly. Supposedly, Hickok was gravely wounded in the shootout and later had eleven bullets removed. The legend of Wild Bill was born.
Monday, July 11, 2011
150 Years Ago: Rich Mountain
Image of General William Rosecrans via WikipediaOn Thursday, July 11, 1861, the battle of Rich Mountain took place in Randolph County, Virginia (now West Virginia).
Union Major General George McClellan, commanding the Department of the Ohio, had come to western Virginia in late May, occupying Grafton, a key junction on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He then sent a detachment to rout a small Confederate force at Philippi on June 3. He then spent several weeks consolidating his forces and securing the portion of the railroad that ran through this mountainous country.
He was opposed by Brigadier General Robert Garnett who commanded some 5000 men at Beverly, a vital turnpike crossroads. Garnett had been unable to get reinforcements or recruits from the pro-Union population, and was reduced to staging raids on Union supply lines.
When McClellan was finally ready, he moved forward to take on this force and capture Beverly. He commanded an imposing force of 20,000, but some 5000 were were scattered throughout the countryside guarding the railroad, bridges and roads.
He found the Confederates entrenched on Rich Mountain and Laurel Mountain, protecting Beverly on the west and north respectively. He split his force into two columns that marched on the positions in a coordinated advance. From Philippi, Brigadier General Thomas Morris marched to confront the force at Laurel Mountain. McClellan, with his principal lieutenant, Brigadier General William Rosecrans, moved from Buckhannon toward Rich Mountain.
Morris was in position on July 7 and engaged the Confederates in a series of small skirmishes over the next few days that convinced Garnett that he would be attacked from the north. He concentrated most of his men on Laurel Mountain, leaving just 1300 under Colonel John Pegram on Rich Mountain.
Even with an overwhelming advantage, McClellan was hesitant to launch a frontal assault on Rich Mountain. The Confederates had a strong position and a prisoner had convinced the general that he faced many more men than were actually there.
A young civilian, David Hart, appeared in the Union lines and told Rosecrans of a path that led around the left flank of the Confederate position. Rosecrans took the young man to McClellan and, after deciding that Hart could be trusted, came up with a new plan. Rosecrans would take his brigade of 1900 men -- the 8th, 10th and 13th Indiana, and the 19th Ohio Regiments -- south of the Confederate position and attack the Confederates from the rear. McClellan would wait with the rest of the men and make a frontal assault when Rosecrans launched his assault.
At 5 a.m. on July 11, Rosecrans's force headed off with David Hart in the lead. It was slow going, taking eight hours to get seven or eight miles through the mountain forest, but Rosecrans finally emerged a mile or two in the rear of the Confederate position. After a sharp fight that lasted almost two hours, Rosecrans personally led a charge that overwhelmed the Confederates. McClellan never made the planned frontal assault.
From McClellan's official report:
Headquarters, Department of the Ohio, Rich Mountain, Va., 9 a.m., July 12, 1861.
Col. E. D. Townsend: We are in possession of all the enemy's works up to a point in the right of Beverly. I have taken all his guns, a very large amount of wagons, tents, &c.--everything he had — a large number of prisoners, many of whom were wounded, and several officers prisoners. They lost many killed. We have lost, in all, perhaps twenty killed and fifty wounded, of whom all but two or three were in the column under Rosecrans, which turned the position. The mass of the enemy escaped through the woods, entirely disorganized. Among the prisoners is Dr. Taylor, formerly of the army. Col. Pegram was in command.
Colonel Rosecrans's column left camp yesterday morning, and marched some eight miles through the mountains, reaching the turnpike some two or three miles in rear of the enemy, defeating an advanced post, and taking a couple of guns. I had a position ready for twelve guns near the main camp, and as guns were moving up, I ascertained that the enemy had retreated. I am now pushing on to Beverly, a part of Colonel Rosecrans's troops being now within three miles of it.
McClellan submitted a second report a little later:
Beverly, July 12th, 1861.
Col. E. D. Townsend, Washington, D. C,:
The success of to-day is all that I could desire. We captured six brass cannons, of which one is rifled, all the enemy's camp equipage and transportation, even to his cups. The number of tents will probably reach two hundred, and more than sixty wagons. Their killed and wounded will amount to fully one hundred and fifty, with one hundred prisoners, and more coming in constantly. I know already of ten officers killed and prisoners. Their retreat is complete.
I occupied Beverly by a rapid march. Garnett abandoned his camp early in the morning, leaving much of his equipage. He came within a few miles of Beverly, but our rapid march turned him back in great confusion, and he is now retreating on the road to St. George. I have ordered Gen. Morris to follow him up closely.
I have telegraphed for the two Pennsylvania regiments at Cumberland to join Gen. Hill at Rowlesburg. The General is concentrating all his troops at Rowlesburg, and he will cut off Garnett's retreat near West Union, or, if possible, at St. George.
I may say that we have driven out some ten thousand troops, strongly intrenched, with the loss of 11 killed and 35 wounded. The provision returns here show Garnett's force to have been ten thousand men. They were Eastern Virginians, Tennesseans, Georgians, and, I think, Carolinians. To-morrow I can give full details, as to prisoners, &c.
Friday, June 03, 2011
150 Years Ago: The Philippi Races
On June 3, 1861, Union troops attacked and routed a much smaller Confederate force at Philippi, Virginia. It was a small skirmish that had a big impact on the opening days of the Civil War.
Union Major General George McClellan was conducting the first real campaign of the war. McClellan commanded the Department of the Ohio. From his headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, he quickly realized the importance of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad that linked his command to Washington.
McClellan sent troops into western Virginia to secure the railroad there. There was a small Confederate force of about 800 men under Colonel George Porterfield at Grafton, Virginia, a small village at the site of the junction of two lines of the B & O Railroad. As the Union troops neared Grafton, the Confederates withdrew south to Philippi.
After a brief pause to regroup, two columns under Colonel Benjamin Kelley marched all night in a driving rain fifteen miles south to Philippi to launch a predawn surprise attack on the Confederate force. This was a tremendous accomplishment for raw recruits on almost nonexistent roads over mountainous terrain in terrible weather, but the two columns, some 3000 men, converged on Philippi before dawn.
A pistol shot was to be the signal to attack. The poorly armed, badly outnumbered Confederates were huddled in their tents to escape the terrible weather. They had not set up picket lines to guard the perimeter of their camp.
Most of the population of this section of Virginia was pro-Unionist, but one of the Confederate sympathizers, Mrs. Thomas Humphreys, saw the Union troops advancing and sent her son on horseback to warn the encampment. She watched as Union pickets captured the boy and fired her pistol at them. Her shots launched the attack prematurely.
It didn't matter; the attack was still effective. The Union troops opened up with their artillery, which awakened the sleeping Confederates. They fled south, leaving their equipment and, in most cases, their clothes behind. The Federal infantry followed in hot pursuit and the whole affair became known as "the Philippi races;" a shameful disgrace in the South and a big morale boost in the North.
Kelley was badly wounded while pursuing the Confederates. Porterfield was soon relieved of command, replaced by Brigadier General Robert Garnett.
Though he was not there and didn't play any part in the skirmish, McClellan was given all the credit for the victory. He was quickly becoming the first hero of the war in the North and would soon be called to Washington to replace Winfield Scott as General-in-Chief of the U.S. Army.
The rout emboldened the pro-Unionists of the region. Soon they would break away, seceding from the secessionists, creating a brand-new state in the Federal Union, West Virginia.
This encounter would see the first (but certainly not the last) battlefield amputations of the war. One of these, James Hanger, lost a leg. He recovered and was sent home where he made an artificial leg for himself out of barrel staves and a hinge. It worked well enough that the Virginia legislature commissioned him to make them for other veterans. After the war, he patented the "Hanger Limb" and founded what is now Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics.
Also on this date, Stephen Douglas died in Chicago.
Union Major General George McClellan was conducting the first real campaign of the war. McClellan commanded the Department of the Ohio. From his headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, he quickly realized the importance of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad that linked his command to Washington.
McClellan sent troops into western Virginia to secure the railroad there. There was a small Confederate force of about 800 men under Colonel George Porterfield at Grafton, Virginia, a small village at the site of the junction of two lines of the B & O Railroad. As the Union troops neared Grafton, the Confederates withdrew south to Philippi.
After a brief pause to regroup, two columns under Colonel Benjamin Kelley marched all night in a driving rain fifteen miles south to Philippi to launch a predawn surprise attack on the Confederate force. This was a tremendous accomplishment for raw recruits on almost nonexistent roads over mountainous terrain in terrible weather, but the two columns, some 3000 men, converged on Philippi before dawn.
A pistol shot was to be the signal to attack. The poorly armed, badly outnumbered Confederates were huddled in their tents to escape the terrible weather. They had not set up picket lines to guard the perimeter of their camp.
Most of the population of this section of Virginia was pro-Unionist, but one of the Confederate sympathizers, Mrs. Thomas Humphreys, saw the Union troops advancing and sent her son on horseback to warn the encampment. She watched as Union pickets captured the boy and fired her pistol at them. Her shots launched the attack prematurely.
It didn't matter; the attack was still effective. The Union troops opened up with their artillery, which awakened the sleeping Confederates. They fled south, leaving their equipment and, in most cases, their clothes behind. The Federal infantry followed in hot pursuit and the whole affair became known as "the Philippi races;" a shameful disgrace in the South and a big morale boost in the North.
Kelley was badly wounded while pursuing the Confederates. Porterfield was soon relieved of command, replaced by Brigadier General Robert Garnett.
Though he was not there and didn't play any part in the skirmish, McClellan was given all the credit for the victory. He was quickly becoming the first hero of the war in the North and would soon be called to Washington to replace Winfield Scott as General-in-Chief of the U.S. Army.
The rout emboldened the pro-Unionists of the region. Soon they would break away, seceding from the secessionists, creating a brand-new state in the Federal Union, West Virginia.
This encounter would see the first (but certainly not the last) battlefield amputations of the war. One of these, James Hanger, lost a leg. He recovered and was sent home where he made an artificial leg for himself out of barrel staves and a hinge. It worked well enough that the Virginia legislature commissioned him to make them for other veterans. After the war, he patented the "Hanger Limb" and founded what is now Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics.
Also on this date, Stephen Douglas died in Chicago.
Monday, May 30, 2011
150 Years Ago: Grafton, Virginia
On May 30, 1861, Union troops under Major General George McClellan occupied the town of Grafton, Virginia. The move was made to secure the section of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad that ran through the western Virginia mountains. The mostly pro-Unionist residents of the region cheered the Union invasion. Grafton was the site of an important railroad junction where the B & O split into lines that went west and northwest to different points on the Ohio River.
Also on this date, Secretary of War Simon Cameron approved General Benjamin Butler's plan to retain any fugitive slaves that entered his lines at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Butler was to put them to work and keep records of their service.
At Norfolk, Virginia, the Confederates raised the U.S.S. Merrimack. It had been burned and sunk when the Gosport Naval Yard was abandoned by the Union troops on April 20.
Frank Blair used the authority given him by Lincoln and the War Department to relieve General William Harney of command. Nathaniel Lyon would take his place as the top commander in the St. Louis area the following day.
Also on this date, Secretary of War Simon Cameron approved General Benjamin Butler's plan to retain any fugitive slaves that entered his lines at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Butler was to put them to work and keep records of their service.
At Norfolk, Virginia, the Confederates raised the U.S.S. Merrimack. It had been burned and sunk when the Gosport Naval Yard was abandoned by the Union troops on April 20.
Frank Blair used the authority given him by Lincoln and the War Department to relieve General William Harney of command. Nathaniel Lyon would take his place as the top commander in the St. Louis area the following day.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
150 Years Ago: McClelland Heads to Western Virginia
To travel west from Washington in 1861 you had to take the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and much of it ran through the seceded state of Virginia. Now, at the end of May, rebels held the line from Harper's Ferry to Cumberland, Maryland, and would control much more of the line as soon as they could get troops into western Virginia. In addition, the people of western Virginia were staunchly Unionist; they had just a few days earlier voted overwhelmingly against secession in a recent statewide referendum on the subject and were contemplating a break with the rest of the state.
Major General George B. McClelland, commanding the Department of the Ohio, decided to secure western Virginia (and the railroad) for the Union. He got his troops underway, headed toward the key junction of Grafton, Virginia, on May 26, 1861, after issuing two proclamations. One was addressed "To the Union Men of Western Virginia," the other to his soldiers:
Also on this date, in Washington, Postmaster General Montgomery Blair ruled that postal service would not be provided to the Southern states after May 31.
After laying in state in the East Room of the White House the day before, Colonel Elmer Ellsworth's funeral was held. President and Mrs. Lincoln attended. Ellsworth's body was then transported to upstate New York for burial.
Major General George B. McClelland, commanding the Department of the Ohio, decided to secure western Virginia (and the railroad) for the Union. He got his troops underway, headed toward the key junction of Grafton, Virginia, on May 26, 1861, after issuing two proclamations. One was addressed "To the Union Men of Western Virginia," the other to his soldiers:
Headquarters, Department of the Ohio, May 26, 1861.
To the Union Men of Western Virginia:
Virginians! The General Government has long enough endured the machinations of a few factious rebels in your midst. Armed traitors have in vain endeavored to deter you from expressing your loyalty at the polls. Having failed in this infamous attempt to deprive you of the exercise of your dearest rights, they now seek to inaugurate a reign of terror, and thus force you to yield to their schemes and submit to the yoke of the traitorous conspiracy dignified by the name of the Southern Confederacy. They are destroying the property of citizens of your State and ruining your magnificent railways. The General Government has heretofore carefully abstained from sending troops across the Ohio, or even from posting them along its banks, although frequently urged to do so by many of your prominent citizens. It determined to await the result of the late election, desirous that no one might be able to say that the slightest effort had been made from this side to influence the free expression of your opinions, although the many agencies brought to bear upon you by the rebels were well known. You have now shown under the most adverse circumstances that the great mass of the people of Western Virginia are true and loyal to that benificent [sic] government under which we and our fathers have lived so long. As soon as the result of the election was known the traitors commenced their work of destruction. The General Government cannot close its ears to the demand you have made for assistance. I have ordered troops to cross the Ohio river. They come as your friends and brothers, as enemies only to the armed rebels who are preying upon you. Your homes, your families, and your property are safe under our protection. All your rights shall be religiously respected, notwithstanding all that has been said by the traitors to induce you to believe that our advent among you will be signalized by interference with your slaves. Understand one thing clearly. Not only will we abstain from all such interference, but we will on the contrary with an iron hand crush any attempt at insurrection on their part, now that we are in your midst. I call upon you to fly to arms and support the general government, sever the connection that binds you to traitors, proclaim to the world that the faith and loyalty so long boasted by the Old Dominion are still preserved in Western Virginia, and that you remain true to the stars and stripes.
Geo. B. McClellan,
Maj. General, U. S. A., commanding department of the Ohio.
Head Quarters of the Department of the Ohio.
May 26th 1861.
Soldiers you are ordered to cross the frontier and enter the soil of Virginia. Your mission is to restore peace and confidence—to protect the majesty of the law and rescue our brethern [sic] from the grasp of armed traitors. You are to act in concert with Virginia troops and to support their advance. I place under the safeguard of your honor the persons and property of the Virginians. I know that you will respect their feelings and all their rights and preserve the strictest discipline. Remember that each one of you hold in his keeping the honor of Ohio and of the Union! If you are called upon to overcome armed opposition I know that your courage is equal to the task, but remember that your only foes are armed traitors, and show mercy even to them when they are in your power, for many of them are misguided. When under your protection the loyal men of Western Virginia will be enabled to organize and arm, they can protect themselves and you can return to your homes with the satisfaction of having preserved a proud and gallant people from dishonor.
Geo. B. McClellan,
Major General U. S. A., Commanding the Dep’t of the Ohio.
Also on this date, in Washington, Postmaster General Montgomery Blair ruled that postal service would not be provided to the Southern states after May 31.
After laying in state in the East Room of the White House the day before, Colonel Elmer Ellsworth's funeral was held. President and Mrs. Lincoln attended. Ellsworth's body was then transported to upstate New York for burial.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
150 Years Ago -- the Department of the Ohio
On Friday, May 3, 1861, the U.S. War Department created the Department of the Ohio, organizing the troops being raised in the Northern states near the Ohio River -- Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. George McClellan, a West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran, was named as its first commander.
Also on this date, in Washington, Lincoln expanded his call for troops. He had called for 75,000 militia in his war proclamation on April 15. Now he was calling for 42,000 more. He also directed that the regular army by increased by over 22,000 and the Navy by 18,000. As Congress was not yet in session, he did this without their approval.
In Missouri, Governor Claiborne Jackson addressed the state legislature which he had called into special session. Jackson, who was toiling to take the state (and the St. Louis Arsenal) out of the Union, told the legislators that Missouri should remain neutral for the present, but should start arming for its own defense.
Also on this date, in Washington, Lincoln expanded his call for troops. He had called for 75,000 militia in his war proclamation on April 15. Now he was calling for 42,000 more. He also directed that the regular army by increased by over 22,000 and the Navy by 18,000. As Congress was not yet in session, he did this without their approval.
In Missouri, Governor Claiborne Jackson addressed the state legislature which he had called into special session. Jackson, who was toiling to take the state (and the St. Louis Arsenal) out of the Union, told the legislators that Missouri should remain neutral for the present, but should start arming for its own defense.
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