Civil War Monitor

Sesquicentennials

• Battle of Seven PinesRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 5/31/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Today, May 31st, marks the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks. The conflict, which ultimately ended in a stalemate, was primarily an attempt by Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston to repulse George B. McClella?s Union Army from the outskirts of Richmond.

• The First Battle of WinchesterRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 5/25/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  This overwhelming Confederate victory resulted in the loss of more than 2,000 Yankees and the majority of the Federal supplies; the Rebels only lost 400 men. More importantly, President Abraham Lincoln feared that the loss of Winchester placed the Union capital at risk. As such, he withheld General Irvin McDowell’s corps from joining the Richmond campaign. The two armies would meet...

• Battle of Front RoyalRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 5/24/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Yesterday, May 23rd marked the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Front Royal, part of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. On the morning of May 23, 1862, the forefront of Major General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s army reached Spangler’s Crossroads in Virginia. From there, Colonels Turner Ashby and Thomas L. Flournoy diverted their cavalry west and across the Shenandoah River...

• The Battle of McDowell Read More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 5/8/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Today marks the sesquicentennial of the Battle of McDowell (May 8, 1862)?the second full scale engagement of Major General Thomas ?Stonewall? Jackson?s Shenandoah Valley Campaign.

• Battle of WilliamsburgRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 5/5/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Today marks the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Williamsburg (May 5, 1862). Part of the Peninsula Campaign, the battle occurred in the aftermath of the Battle of Yorktown (the month-long siege ended on May 4th); it was also the first pitched battle of the Campaign as nearly 41,000 Federals engaged 32,000 Confederates in combat.

• The Battle of YorktownRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 5/4/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Today marks the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Yorktown. Part of the Peninsula Campaign, the Siege of Yorktown lasted from April 5th to May 4th, 1862 and took place near the famed Revolutionary War siege site.

• Was Confederate Conscription an Instrument of Social Justice?Read More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 4/26/2012 Author: Andy Hall | 

  Should the Confederate Conscription Act of April 1862 be viewed as what we might today describe as an instrument of social justice? Some Confederates at the time thought so.

• The Start of Confederate ConscriptionRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 4/16/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Today marks the sesquicentennial of the first Conscription Act passed by the Confederate Congress (April 16, 1862)?and the first time the draft was employed in American history.

• Did a C.S.S. Alabama Veteran Die in the Titanic Disaster?Read More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 4/15/2012 Author: Andy Hall | 

  Samuel Beard Risien and his wife, Emma, died aboard the infamous White Star Liner in April 1912. Was he also, as he claimed, a veteran of the famous Confederate sea raider from a half-century before?

• The Fall of Fort PulaskiRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 4/12/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Tuesday and yesterday, marked the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Fort Pulaski (April 10-11, 2012). Located on Cockspur Island, Fort Pulaski was strategically positioned near the mouth of the Savannah River and therefore was a key component to Savannah’s defense. In 1862, many considered the fort invincible courtesy if its seven and a half foot brick walls and the swampy marshes...

• Island No. 10Read More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 4/8/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Today marks the sesquicentennial of the Union capture of Island No 10. Located 60 miles south of Columbus at the Kentucky Bend of the Mississippi River (adjacent to New Madrid), Island No. 10 sits at the base of a tight double turn in the river. The island offered Confederates a key strategic position to protect the river from Union invasion but unfortunately it depended on a single road for...

• The Battle of ShilohRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 4/6/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Today and tomorrow mark the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Shiloh—also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing. A major battle in the Western Theater, Shiloh took place in southwestern Tennessee and pit Major General Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee and Major General Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio against Confederate Generals Albert Sidney Johnston’s and P....

• The Battle of Glorieta PassRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 3/28/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  In March of 1862, Confederate Major Charles L. Pyron led a force of 200-300 Texans to nearby Johnson’s Ranch. On March 26th, Union Major John M. Chivington attacked with a force of 400 Coloradans. While Chivington successfully captured some of the rebel troops, he found the bulk of the southern force behind him. Chivington tried to advance but Confederate artillery repulsed him. ...

• The First Battle of KernstownRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 3/21/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Today marks the sesquicentennial of the First Battle of Kernstown (March 23, 1862)—near Winchester, VA. Relying on faulty intelligence, General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and his force of 3,000 Confederate troops advanced towards Barton’s Woods. Colonel Nathan Kimball and his 8,500 Union troops stopped the southerners at Pritchard Farm in Kernstown. The federal troops...

• The Battle of New BernRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 3/14/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Today, marks the sesquicentennial of the oft-ignored Battle of New Bern, NC—sometimes spelled New Berne or Newbern. Part of Burnside’s expedition, the skirmish saw 11,000 Union forces defeat 4,500 ill-equipped Confederate troops, resulting in a three-year occupation of the city and the Federals’ gaining control of the North Carolina coast. The Union army took advantage of New ...

• The Battle of Hampton RoadsRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 3/8/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Today marks the sesquicentennial of the Battle at Hampton Roads. On March 8, 1862, the CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack), under the command of Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, left Norfolk and steamed out to attack nearby Union ships, including the USS Cumberland. Around 2pm, the Virginia rammed the Cumberland with its 1,500-pound iron ram, ?mortally? killing the Cumberland via a hole to...

• The Battle of Pea RidgeRead More

  Category: Sesquicentennials Posted: 3/7/2012 Author: Laura June Davis | 

  Today marks the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Pea Ridge—also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern. Occurring on March 7 and 8, 1862 near Leetown, Arkansas, the Battle of Pea Ridge included American Indian troops under the leadership of Brigadier General Albert Pike. Pike’s “Indian Brigade”...