Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
April 15, 1862 - In Richmond, President Jefferson Davis orders General Joseph E. Johnston to move his army to Yorktown on the Virginia Peninsula and reinforce General Magruder. Johnston is disgruntled but prepares to march south (see the final entry last week- April 14,1862).
April 16, 1862 - A bill outlawing slave ownership in the District of Columbia is signed by President Lincoln. Compensation for slaves freed is $300.00 per slave. Slaves escaping from owners loyal to the Union are still to be returned to the owner under the Fugitive Slave Law.
April 16, 1862 - President Davis reacts to the approach of the Union Army close to Richmond by calling for a three-year conscription of all men age 18-35 into the Confederate Army. This is the first conscription legislation in U.S. history.
April 16, 1862 - Union General William F. Smith probes the Confederate position at Dam #1 on the Warwick River southwest of Yorktown on the Virginia Peninsula then attacks Burnt Chimneys and is repelled. General McClellan decides to erect siege works along the Warwick River defensive line.
April 16, 1862 - Seventeen ships of the Western Blockading Force (Commodore Farragut) are positioned below Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, Louisiana on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans. The water is running high and Farragut's fleet passes over the defensive blocks placed in the river by the Confederates. The two forts mount over 90 cannons and have the "Mosquito Squadron" of small warships commanded by Captain George Hollis ready to help defend the positions.
April 17, 1862 - Fredericksburg and Falmouth, Virginia are occupied by Union troops commanded by General Irvin McDowell.
April 17, 1862 - Newly arrived reinforcements join General Joseph E. Johnston's army. The total force is now about 53,000, half the size of the Union force at Yorktown on the Warwick River line.
April 17, 1862 - Union General Nathaniel Banks' troops occupy Mount Jackson in western Virginia. General Thomas J. Jackson is forced to continue withdrawing before them.
April 18, 1862 - Commodore Farragut directs Commander David D. Porter to reduce Forts Jackson and St. Philips. Twenty mortar barges are assigned to bombard the positions using 200-pound mortar shells. The bombardment continues over the next five days.
April 19, 1862 - Artillery fire from Fort Jackson sinks the Federal mortar barge USS Marie J. Carlton.
April 19, 1862 - Federal forces remove chain obstructions across the Mississippi River at Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and the Union fleet slowly begins to move north toward New Orleans.
April 20, 1862 - General Irvin McDowell confers with President Lincoln at Aquia Creek, Virginia and accompanies the president back to Washington, D.C.
April 20, 1862 - General Edward Johnson moves his Confederate units eastward from Shenandoah Mountain in western Virginia under pressure from a larger Union force under General John C. Fremont.
April 21, 1862 - In Richmond, the Confederate Congress creates the first guerrilla forces by passing the Partisan Ranger Act. They then promptly adjourn as the Union Army moves even closer to Richmond.
April 21, 1862 - In east Tennessee, the Brownlow family and other northern sympathizers are evicted from the area.
April 21, 1862 - With Island #10 securely in Union hands, General John Pope moves his forces to the Tennessee side of the Mississippi River.
