A Common Drunkard
From the editor: When President Lincoln reflects upon his collection of army commanders he must be filled with dismay. Nathaniel Banks in New Orleans and William Rosecrans at Murfreesborough owe their appointments, in large part, to the lethargy displayed by their predecessors. However thus far, neither general has shown an appetite for offensive action, and both have developed a penchant of making persistent requests for additional men and equipment. It must also be troubling that his other two army commanders, Ulysses S. Grant and ‘Fighting Joe’ Hooker, are linked by rumors of alcohol abuse. Grant was forced to resign from the peacetime army in 1853 due to his bouts with the bottle and many attribute his horrific battlefield losses at Shiloh to allegations of similar behavior. Closer to home, Hooker also has a reputation as a tippler. George McClellan, who knew Hooker from their prewar days in California, described him then as a "common drunkard & gambler." Such reputations are hard to shake. Hooker has risen to command on the coattails of the efforts of William B. Franklin, ‘Baldy’ Smith, and a plethora of other pro-McClellan generals to resuscitate the career of their fallen leader. It is this specter of ‘Little Mac,’ which reared its ugly head during John Pope's ill-fated Second Manassas campaign, which Lincoln hoped to squelch with the court-martial of McClellan's most trusted advisor, Fitz-John Porter. It is also this specter which cost Ambrose Burnside his job, and has brought Joseph Hooker, warts and all, to Washington as the new commander of the Army of the Potomac. Hooker may not be perfect, but with the departure of Franklin and Smith, and the imminent exile of many of the other generals involved, George McClellan's influence within the army may finally be exorcised.
January 25 1863 (Sunday)
After spending a day mulling over his decision, President Abraham Lincoln sends a message to Ambrose Burnside, "Please meet [me]...at 10 o'clock this morning." The Army of the Potomac, Lincoln fears, is too frail to survive a major purge and as a result, Burnside must be relieved of command. Edwin V. Sumner and William B. Franklin are also to be reassigned from their commands in the army. In a surprising choice, Lincoln selects Joseph Hooker as the new commander. Hooker has, not only actively plotted against Burnside, but his moral reputation remains highly questionable. His headquarters, according to Charles F. Adams, U.S. Minister to England, and son of John Quincy Adams, is "a place where no self-respecting man liked to go, and no decent women could go."
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 20.
WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJT. GEN.'S OFFICE, Washington, D.C., January 25, 1863.
I. The President of the United States has directed: 1st. That Maj. Gen. A.E. Burnside, at his own request, be relieved from the command of the Army of the Potomac. 2d. That Maj. Gen. E.V. Sumner, at his own request, be relieved from duty in the Army of the Potomac. 3d. That Maj. Gen. W.B. Franklin be relieved from duty in the Army of the Potomac. 4th. That Maj. Gen. J. Hooker be assigned to the command of the Army of the Potomac. II. The officers relieved as above will report in person to the Adjutant-General of the Army.
By order of the Secretary of War: [Colonel Edward] D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.
Work is continuing on the canal across De Soto point in an effort to bypass the guns at Vicksburg, Mississippi. To cross this narrow peninsula the canal must be four miles long and deep enough for gunboats and transports to pass through. General-in-Chief Henry Halleck advises Ulysses S. Grant to “direct your attention particularly to the canal,” because “the President attaches much importance to this." Realizing that he is now committed to a river campaign, Grant decides to rejoin the expedition and assume command of the army. Fearing that Union Navy may try to bypass the Vicksburg fortifications, Carter L. Stevenson, commanding the 18,015 Confederate troops in and around the city, is directed to “keep up bright fires along the whole front of our batteries during the whole night.” John C. Pemberton also orders additional ammunition from Major George U. Mayo, Chief of Ordnance, in Jackson, Mississippi: "Hurry up ammunition for 10-inch, 8-inch, and 32-pounders.... Don’t care where from," and increases efforts to hinder the Union canal building efforts.
SPECIAL ORDERS.
HDQRS. DEPT. OF MISS. AND EAST. LA., Vicksburg, January 25, 1863.
Messrs. James Russell and David Reddit will proceed with the utmost dispatch to Point Lookout, and cut the levee effectually at that place, with the purpose of flooding the country now occupied by the enemy's army opposite Vicksburg.
J.C. PEMBERTON.
Other Union activity reported on this date:
1. Henry Halleck returns command of Forts Henry and Donelson to the Department of the Cumberland.
2. Quincy A. Gillmore replaces Gordon Granger as commander of the District of Central Kentucky.
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. N.B. Forrest’s cavalry attack a supply train on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad near Mill Creek, Tennessee. "Two cars were burned; 55 prisoners captured and paroled."
2. J.S. Marmaduke’s cavalry crosses the White River and returns to Batesville, Arkansas. He reports: “At least 200 of the command abandoned their horses on the roadside to die, and waded many a weary mile through the snow and deep mud, some barefooted.”
January 26 1863 (Monday)
Army of the Tennessee commander Braxton Bragg's defensive line stretches from Shelbyville to Wartrace in Middle Tennessee; with his supply line, the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, running south to the Tennessee River. There are four mountain gaps; Bellbuckle, Liberty, Guy's, and Hoover's in the Cumberland Plateau, which Bragg's army must protect. According to William Rosecrans, the position of Bragg's infantry is “covered by a range of high, rough, rocky hills, the principal routes passing southward from Murfreesborough toward Tullahoma and line of the enemy's communications.” In addition, Bragg’s men hold “all [the] passes, and his main position in front of Shelbyville was strengthened by a redan line extending from Horse Mountain, on the east, to Duck River, on the west, covered by a line of abatis.” However, at least one of Bragg's corps commanders, William J. ‘Old Reliable’ Hardee, is unhappy with this defensive alignment.
HDQRS. HARDEE'S CORPS, ARMY OF TENNESSEE, Tullahoma January 26, 1863.
General BRAXTON BRAGG: I send you…a map of the country immediately around this place. The engineers will explain whatever the map may fail to show, respecting the topography of the ground it is proposed to fortify…. It will be seen by the map I send you that this position offers few: if any, advantages for defense. It can be turned, not only by the direct road leading from Manchester to Decherd and Winchester, but, from the nature of the country, our flanks can be turned at this point. I see no advantages in this position which can compensate for superiority of numbers. With high respect, your obedient servant,
W.J. HARDEE, Lieutenant-General.
Ambrose Burnside takes his leave of the Army of the Potomac. Instead of resigning his commission, Burnside is persuaded to take a thirty-day leave of absence and quickly boards a train to his home state of Rhode Island. Joseph Hooker, the new commander of the army, is described as, "tall, shapely, well-dressed,” with a “fair red and white complexion glowing with health." In appointing Hooker, Lincoln underscores his growing lack of faith in Henry Halleck. Not only does Lincoln neglect to consult him before making the decision, he also accedes to Hooker's stipulation he deal directly with Lincoln, thus bypassing Halleck’s authority. The President also addresses Hooker's recent comments about the need for a "dictator," and makes it clear that he is not entirely happy with his new army commander.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., January 26, 1863.
Major-General HOOKER: I have heard...of your recently saying that both the Army and the Government needed a dictator. Of course, it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals who gain successes can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship.... I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to infuse into the army, of criticizing their commander and withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you.... Neither you nor Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get any good out of an army while such a spirit prevails in it. And now beware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance go forward and give us victories. Yours, very truly,
A. LINCOLN.
Other Union activity reported on this date:
1. D.N. Couch takes command of the Right Grand Division, G.G. Meade assumes command of the Center Grand Division, O.O. Howard replaces John Sedgwick in command of II Corps, and Charles Griffin is given temporary command of V Corps.
2. David Hunter requests a part in the upcoming naval campaign against Charleston, South Carolina. He writes, “I would much prefer assisting the Navy…to merely entering Charleston as a garrison of occupation under cover of the guns of the fleet.”
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. P.G.T. Beauregard reports: "Abolition fleet at Hilton Head reported four frigates, four gunboats, and forty transports…. This may indicate future movements on Charleston or Savannah."
2. After inspecting the defenses at WIlmington, North Carolina, G.W. Smith reports, “The passage of the ironclads past the forts [would] seriously embarrass and endanger the defense of the city.”
January 27 1863 (Tuesday)
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles is determined that the attack on Charleston, South Carolina, is to be a strictly Navy affair and Rear-Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont is well aware that Welles expects him to repeat the Navy’s success at New Orleans. To test his new monitors, Du Pont sends Commander John L. Worden and the U.S.S. Montauk to Ossabaw Sound to capture Fort McAllister. The fort, located at the mouth of the Ogeechee River on Genesis Point, is constructed from sand and mud and protects the backdoor approach to Savannah. After bringing the Montauk to within 150 yards, Worden pounds the fort with 450-pound shells for four hours to little effect. The hard pressed defenders, commanded by Major John B. Gallie, 22nd Battalion Georgia Artillery, inflict forty-six hits on the gunboat, but also do little damage. A New York newspaper writer comments, the Rebels might as well have been "throwing beans against a brick wall."
Report of General G.T. Beauregard, C.S. Army, commanding the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
CHARLESTON, S.C.
General [Samuel] COOPER, Adjutant and Inspector-General: Two enemy's gunboats and three steamers attacked for several hours...Fort [McAllister], Genesis Point, on Great Ogeechee. Attack repulsed; nobody hurt in fort. Two steamers went out this harbor safely last night and one came in with various army supplies.
G.T. BEAUREGARD.
President Jefferson Davis writes to Alabama Governor John Gill Shorter about his recent resolution "expressing readiness to unite with other States in guaranteeing the debt of the Confederate government." Davis regards this as a most important step. He writes: "The Government...must have ample means and credit, and our financial system cannot fail to acquire the liberty from the policy you have inaugurated." Davis is also pleased with Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown's recent efforts to urge planters to grow less cotton and more food crops. According to an editorial in the Richmond Examiner, "If all citizens were intelligent and patriotic, not another leaf of tobacco or pod of cotton would be seen in the fields of the South until peace is declared, and a harvest of those necessaries on which our existence as a nation depends, would be ripened by the next summer's sun, such as was never before seen in the land."
RICHMOND, VA., January 27, 1863.
His Excellency JOSEPH E. BROWN, Milledgeville, Ga.: I have received and read with interest your letter indorsing a copy of an act and joint resolution of the Legislature of Georgia, partially prohibiting the cultivation of cotton in the State during the continuance of the war, and urging upon planters the necessity for increased attention to the production of provisions. The inauguration of this policy affords me great gratification. This prompt and emphatic expression by the Legislature of the sentiment of the people of Georgia, it is to be hoped, will be met by the concurrent action of the other States upon the subject; and from the general adoption of the scheme we may anticipate the best results. The possibility of a short supply of provisions presents the greatest danger to a successful prosecution of the war. If we shall be able to furnish adequate subsistence to the Army during the coming season we may set at defiance the worst efforts of our enemy. A general compliance by the farmers and planters, therefore, with the suggestions of this joint resolution will be the guaranty of our independence. Very respectfully, yours,
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Other Union activity reported on this date:
1. Colonel E.R. Eckley, Eightieth Ohio, reports that a forage train was attacked near Germantown, Tennessee. He writes, “The almost impassable condition of the roads has, I think, saved us from a general attack.”
2. A cavalry detachment commanded by Major D.M. Emerson, First West Tennessee Cavalry, on a scout near Ripley, Mississippi, captures Lieutenant-Colonel F.M. Stewart and Lieutenant F. Stith, 22nd Tennessee home on leave. Emerson reports: “They undoubtedly were going to recruit for their regiment.”
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. W.E. Jones, Valley District, is directed to send foraging parties “into the counties of Hampshire, Tucker, Randolph, Pendleton, and Highland..., with a view of collecting cattle or salt meat for our use.” Robert E. Lee writes, “Cattle may be procured by judicious and energetic men acquainted with the country and the inhabitants.”
2. John Bell Hood is directed to send “all the available trenching tools” he can gather to Picket’s Division “on the plank road near Salem Church.” He writes, “An important line of defense is laid out...and there is great insufficiency of the necessary tools.”
3. In Vicksburg, Major T.B. Reed, Commissary of Subsistence, reports he has made arrangements “to grind corn for 25,000 men per day.”
January 28 1863 (Wednesday)
Since the beginning of the war the long border between Texas and Mexico has served as a magnet for merchants, speculators, and cotton dealers. The development of this trade has been a mixed blessing for the Confederacy. Private speculators, able to out-bid government agents, are rapidly cornering the stocks of cotton needed to barter for military hardware and supplies. From Fort Brown, on the southern edge of Brownsville, Texas, Colonel Phillip N. Luckett complains that the agents "are men totally incompetent to transact properly.” The former Corpus Christi physician continues: “They are constantly bidding one against another, causing the Government to pay excessive prices.” With cotton speculation running rampant, Hamilton Bee, commanding the Sub-District of the Rio Grande, has begun to demand that merchants agree to return a portion of their profit to Texas in the form of military supplies in exchange for the necessary licenses. When President Davis learns of this arrangement, he orders Theophilus Holmes, Trans-Mississippi Department, to remove all restrictions on the cotton trade, reminding Holmes that only the Confederate Congress has the right to pass laws governing foreign commerce.
WAR DEPARTMENT, C.S.A., Richmond, Va., January 28, 1863.
General T.H. HOLMES: No law of the Confederate States imposes any restraint upon the exportation of cotton through Mexico.... The Department has never prohibited the exportation of cotton through Confederate ports and disclaims all power to do so…. The consequence is that the order (No. 25) issued by you, and the expanded regulations of Brigadier-General Bee..., is not approved by this Department. As soon as this letter reaches you will countermand your own order and revoke the order to, and authority exercised by, General Bee, and instruct him to confine his action hereafter within the limits of law and in submission to civil authority on this subject.... Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JAMES A. SEDDON, Secretary of War.
Although Commissary-General Lucius Northrop is an old friend of President Davis, his efforts to feed and supply the Confederate armies have been criticized since early in the war and he is now hearing complaints from Robert E. Lee: "We have now about one week's supply, four days' fresh beef, and four days' salt meat, of the reduced ration. After that is exhausted, I know not whence further supplies can be drawn." Northrop is an ardent proponent of the policy of impressing needed military supplies from local populations. This is a policy that Lee is not willing to implement. He explains: "A resort to impressment would...produce aggravation and suffering among the people without much benefit to the army." Northrop also complains that Lee is not conserving meat by having his men eat the necks and hoofs of the cattle. Secretary of War Seddon bolsters Lee in his quarrel with Northrop: "The reports that I have called for are less satisfactory to me...than I had hoped, and they shall certainly arouse all the powers I can command to remove the difficulties.... You may rely on my best exertions in my sphere here to maintain your army in comfort and efficiency."
SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT, January 28, 1863.
Fifteen months ago this Bureau foresaw that the supply of cattle in Virginia would be exhausted.... Last winter the Commissary-General of Subsistence urged that the necks and shanks of beeves, usually excluded by regulations, should be used so as to make the most of what was obtained.... The order of the War Department...reducing the rations of meat…has not been observed in the army of Virginia for a period of between three and four months, by order of General Lee, and the use of the whole beef (necks and shanks included), which was attempted to be instituted by the Commissary-General of Subsistence, has not been observed in that army.... But for...the failure to economize beef, the supplies for General Lee's army would have lasted several weeks longer.... Respectfully,
L.B. NORTHROP, Commissary-General of Subsistence.
Other Union activity reported on this date:
1. H.W. Halleck chastises W.S. Rosecrans for approving “numerous applications of leaves of absence.” He writes, “While you are...daily asking for…re-enforcements, it is obviously improper to give leaves to officers of your command.”
2. From Donaldson, Louisiana, Colonel R.E. Holcomb, First Louisiana (U.S.), reports his cavalry had “a skirmish with the enemy at Indian Village,” and “drove the enemy from his fortifications on the west bank of the Grosse Tête.”
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. J.E. Johnston requests the “system of sick leaves and furloughs be abolished.” He writes, “They are usually obtained to escape service, and are draining our army.”
2. In Charleston, South Carolina, F.D. Lee, Captain of Engineers, reports “all the necessary machinery has arrived...for [the] marine torpedo ram.”
3. In Richmond, Virginia, Captain T.P. Turner, commanding C.S. Military Prisons, reports that a bridge near the Petersburg Terminal gave way throwing “sixty or seventy” prisoners into the canal. He writes, “All were rescued except two.”
January 29 1863 (Thursday)
The rise of Joseph Hooker to command of the Army of the Potomac is met with bemusement by Robert E. Lee. In correspondence, he refers to him as ‘Mr. F.J. Hooker’ in honor of his sobriquet, ‘Fighting Joe’ Hooker. Meanwhile, Hooker is busy establishing his headquarters staff. His new chief-of-staff Daniel Butterfield is seen as a skilled administrator and is evidence of Hooker's determination to shake up and reorganize the army. A native of Utica, New York, he ran the eastern division of his father’s overland express company before the war, and was involved with several militia companies in New York City. However, few know that as a young man Butterfield was involved in a series of suspected arsons that resulted in the 1851 execution of *Horace B. Conklin. Due to his social status, Butterfield was exempt from any punishment, but was forced to leave Utica for greener pastures. Along with the notorious Dan Sickles, Hooker and Butterfield were referred to as the “drunk-murdering-arson dynasty now prevailing at headquarters.”
GENERAL ORDERS No. 2.
HDQRS. ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, Camp near Falmouth, Va., January 29, 1863.
The following-named officers are announced on the general staff of this army: Maj. Gen. Daniel Butterfield, chief of staff. Brig. Gen. Seth Williams, assistant adjutant-general. Lieut. Col. Joseph Dickinson, assistant adjutant-general. Brig. Gen. James A. Hardie, judge advocate-general. Brig. Gen. Henry J. Hunt, chief of artillery. Brig. Gen. [Marsena] R. Patrick, provost-marshal-general. Col. Rufus Ingalls, chief quartermaster. Lieut. Col. [Frederick] Myers, deputy chief quartermaster.... Staff officers absent from the command will report for duty without delay. By command of Major-General Hooker:
JOS. DICKINSON, Assistant Adjutant-General.
*Editor’s Note: Before his hanging, Horace B. Conklin released a confession implicating “Gen. Dan. Butterfield and divers others in the incendiary fires at Utica N.Y. in 1850-51.”
Colonel P. Edward Connor, Third California, leads an expedition from Camp Douglas, Utah Territory, against the Shoshoni camp of Chief Bear Hunter. He reports: "The encampment of a large body of Indians [is] on Bear River, in Utah Territory, 140 miles north of this point." It is Bear Hunter's band who, Connor believes, "murdered several miners during the winter” and who were the “principal actors and leaders in the horrid massacres of the past summer." Connor's men march through bitterly cold weather in an effort the surprise the Shoshoni Indians, and “not less than seventy-five had their feet frozen." The Indian encampment, near Battle Creek ravine, is attacked at dawn. After an initial repulse, Connor's men succeed in flanking the Indians' position and routing them from the ravine. The battle turns into a massacre and most of the warriors are killed, plus several women, children, and old men. Henry Halleck rewards Connor for his victory with a promotion to Brigadier-General: "I congratulate you and your command on their heroic conduct and brilliant victory on Bear River."
Report of Col. P. Edward Connor, Third California Infantry, commanding District of Utah.
COLONEL: I was apprehensive that the Indians would discover the strength of my force and make their escape. I therefore made a rapid march with the cavalry and reached the bank of the river shortly after daylight in full view of the Indian encampment.... I found that [Major Edward McGarry] had dismounted the cavalry and was engaged with the Indians, who had sallied out of their hiding places on foot and horseback, and with fiendish malignity waved the scalps of white women and challenged the troops to battle.... After being engaged about twenty minutes I found it was impossible to dislodge them without great sacrifice of life. I accordingly ordered Major McGarry with twenty men to turn their left flank, which was in the ravine where it entered the mountains.... I ordered the flanking party to advance down the ravine on either side, which gave us the advantage of an enfilading fire and caused some of the Indians to give way.... Those who did escape from the ravine were afterward shot in attempting to swim the river.... We found 224 bodies on the field, among which were those of the chiefs Bear Hunter, Sagwich, and Leight.... I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
P. EDW. CONNOR, Colonel Third Infantry California Volunteers, Comdg. District.
Casualties at Bear River, Utah Territory:
U.S. 67 (20 killed, 47 wounded)
Shoshoni 224 (killed, wounded)
Other Union activity reported on this date:
1. Still recovering from “lung fever,” W.S. Rosecrans reports: “Am convalescent and at work. Enemy shows signs of withdrawing.”
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. J.C. Pemberton continues to strengthen the defenses in and around Vicksburg, Mississippi. He reports: “With the co-operation of our land batteries, the mouth of the canal on this side can be held."
2. Colonel William M. Wadley, A.A.G., who is assigned the “supervision and control of railroad transportation, reports: “The only remedy…will be an act of Congress providing for Government to take possession of any railroad that fails to perform promptly Government transportation."
January 30 1863 (Friday)
With the “design of subsisting my command as largely as possible within the enemy's lines,” Roger A. Pryor crosses his detachment of 1,800 men across the Blackwater River “on a foraging expedition.” When Pryor’s men are spotted by Union scouts, a “special force” of infantry and cavalry is organized, under the command of Michael Corcoran, to “force him from his position, inflicting all the loss possible.” Corcoran reports: “Our advance guard…met the enemy's pickets posted in strong force on the road and in the woods. They were promptly charged, some being killed and others taken prisoners…. [I] determined to charge the enemy with the bayonet…. The enemy rapidly retreated at our apparent approach, and were vigorously pursued until our infantry advance was stopped by thick woods and marsh. Although the engagement was small, it would mark the last time Pryor, a former newspaper editor, would command troops in the field. Due to his ineffectiveness, Pryor has not been given a permanent command and his Florida Brigade is about to be broken up. *Michael Corcoran, his opponent on the field, is seeing his first action since being captured at Bull Run in 1861. Corcoran’s refusal to accept parole has made him famous in the North, and was rewarded with a promotion to brigadier-general.
Report of Brig. Gen. Roger A. Pryor, C.S. ARMY.
The fortunate issue of this engagement, maintained against such superior force (the enemy's force being fully 8,000), I attribute to the favor of Providence and the superb valor of the troops of my command. For four hours the infantry lay under a terrific storm of shell, case, and canister, and yet hardly a man abandoned his place in the ranks. But the chief glory of the fight must be accorded to the artillery. To the rapidity and effect of their fire, the firmness with which they held their position and maintained the fight against more numerous and heavier batteries and under the menace of a charge by cavalry and infantry, is due the decisive repulse sustained by the enemy…. I have the honor to be, very respectfully: your obedient servant,
ROGER A. PRYOR, Brigadier-General, Commanding.
*Born in Ireland, Michael Corcoran emigrated to the United States in 1849. He was one of the founding members of the Fenian Brotherhood in America. Upon his release from Southern captivity, he raised and organized the Irish Legion and his arrival in New York City drew “the largest crowd ever seen in New York.”
Ulysses S. Grant returns to Young's Point, the Union staging area at the junction of the Yazoo and Mississippi River and assumes command of the expeditionary force. Disappointed with the progress of the De Soto Canal, Grant looks for other ways to advance his army. He reports: "I find that Lake Providence, some 60 miles above here; which connects with Red River through Tensas Bayou, Washita and Black Rivers, is a wide and navigable way.... I have determined to make the experiment." Grant's arrival is not welcomed by John McClernand, who fears that he will be supplanted, once again, from command of the expedition. He informs Grant: "I claim that all orders...should pass through these headquarters.... If different views are entertained by you, then the question should be immediately referred to Washington; and one or the other, or both of us relieved. One thing is certain, two generals cannot command this army, issuing independent and direct orders to subordinate officers."
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI, DEPARTMENT OF THE TENNESSEE, Before Vicksburg, January 30, 1863.
Maj. Gen. U.S. GRANT, Commanding Department of the Tennessee: I hasten to inquire whether its purpose is to relieve me from the command of...the Mississippi River expedition, or..., whether its purpose is to limit my command to the Thirteenth Army Corps. I am led to make this inquiry, because..., it conflicts with the order of the Secretary of War, made under the personal direction of the President…. Your obedient servant,
JOHN A. McCLERNAND, Major-General, Commanding.
Casualties at Deserted House/Kelly’s Store, Virginia:
U.S.: 133 (23 killed, 95 wounded, 15 missing)
C.S.: 39 (8 killed, 31 wounded, 39 missing)
Other Union activity reported on this date:
1. The House of Representatives adopts a resolution requesting if “any rebel officers captured by the Army of the United States have been granted parole since the proclamation of Jefferson Davis refusing to parole or exchange captured officers of Union regiments.”
2. J.R. West, District of Arizona, is ordered to begin “a vigorous warfare...against the various tribes of Apache Indians who infest the country lying east and west of the Rio Grande.”
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. The War Department issues General Orders No. 6 authorizing “the employment of negroes, two to each company, as cooks, and orders that persons so employed shall be…paid by the Quartermaster's Department.”
2. B.H. Helm is given command of Roger Hanson's Kentucky brigade. Helm has spent most of the war in Louisiana where he was seriously injured in a fall from a horse.
3. T.C. Hindman is “relieved from further duty.” He is to be replaced by W.L. Cabell, who is directed to rebuild C.S. strength in northeastern Arkansas.
4. Micah Jenkins is ordered to “proceed to South Carolina to procure conscripts and volunteers for his brigade.” Jenkins is “to be absent twenty-five days.”
January 31 1863 (Saturday)
After a successful trial on the Stono River, P.G.T. Beauregard decides to unleash his two ironclad rams, Palmetto State and Chicora, on the Union blockading fleet off Charleston harbor in hopes of recapturing the British Princess Royal, taken by blockaders two days earlier. The 9-gun steamer Mercedita is rammed and set on fire and quickly surrenders, and the ten-gun sidewheel steamer Keystone State is also forced to haul down her flag before limping out to sea. Commander John R. Tucker, C.S.N., reports: "I discovered that she was endeavoring to make her escape by working her starboard wheel.... Her colors being down, I at once started in pursuit.... She then hoisted her flag and commenced firing her rifled gun, her commander, by this faithless act, placing himself beyond the pale of civilized the honorable warfare." When the rest of the Union fleet draws off into deeper water, Beauregard is quick to claim that the blockade is lifted. He reports: "The outer harbor remained in the full possession of the two Confederate rams. Not a Federal sail was visible, even with spyglasses."
PROCLAMATION.
HEADQUARTERS LAND AND NAVAL FORCES, Charleston, S.C., January 31, 1863.
At about 5 o'clock this morning the Confederate States naval force on this station attacked the United States Blockading Fleet off the harbor of the city of Charleston, and sunk, dispersed, or drove off and out of sight for the time the entire hostile fleet. Therefore we, the undersigned, commanders respectively of the Confederate States naval and land forces in this quarter, do hereby formally declare the blockade by the United States of the said city of Charleston, S.C., to be raised by a superior force of the Confederate States from and after this 31st day of January, A.D. 1863.
G. T. BEAUREGARD, General, Commanding. [Duncan] N. INGRAHAM, Flag-Officer Commanding Naval Forces in South Carolina. Official: THOMAS JORDAN, Chief of Staff.
P.G.T. Beauregard's proclamation lifting the blockade is important because if true, the Union will have to issue new notices of blockade before it can be reestablished. Lieutenant Parker, executive officer of the Palmetto State, is not impressed with ‘Old Bory's’ action. He reports: "I thought the proclamation ill-advised." One crew member of the C.S.S. Chicora is even blunter: "They say we raised the blockade, but we all felt we would have rather raised hell and sunk ships." To allay any international controversy, Samuel F. Du Pont orders the U.S.S. New Ironsides to join the two ironclads still blockading Charleston.
Report of Col. Ambrose A. Lechler, One hundred and seventy-sixth Pennsylvania Infantry et al.
SIR: Upon our arrival off the harbor, which was at about 8.30 in the morning, [we] found lying there the blockading squadron, some of which were at anchor....Vessels could be seen in the inlets, and by the aid of the glass a fort, said to have been Sumter, was visible....Being thus near the site of the engagement, and so soon after it came off, we do not hesitate in the least to pronounce the statement that the blockade was raised not only absurd, but utterly and willfully false in every particular; and the statement of the English consul...that the squadron could not be seen even with the aid of powerful glasses is one equally false, and one that impels us to conclude that it would require a powerful glass truly to be able to discover one particle of truth or honesty in the composition of these gentlemen....We have the honor, sir, to be, your most obedient servants,
[Ambrose] A. LECHLER, Col., Comdg. One hundred and seventy-sixth Regt. Penn. Militia., W.F. FUNDENBURG, Surgeon, One hundred and seventy-sixth Regiment Penn. Militia., TAYLOR C. NEWBURY, Captain Steamship Cossack.
Other Union activity reported on this date:
1. Joseph Hooker is instructed to always keep in view “the importance of covering Washington and Harper's Ferry.”
2. W.F. Smith’s IX Corps is transferred to the Department of Virginia, to be stationed at Fort Monroe.
3. Returning to active operations, Jefferson C. Davis reports he has arrived at Eagleville, Tennessee, and “after some skirmishing succeeded in taking about 100 prisoners.”
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. In Tullahoma, Braxton Bragg issues strict instructions to his bridge guards that “floating wood or logs” bust not be allowed to pile up.
2. From Wilmington, North Carolina, W.H.C. Whiting, District of Cape Fear, reports that “a portion of the enemy's fleet left Beaufort yesterday,” and that “five steamers and seventeen transports passed Swansborough last night.”