Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
April 22, 1862 - Herman Haupt, an engineer/inventor/railroad expert, is appointed by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to serve as chief of construction and transportation for the U.S. Military. Transportation and traffic movement became much more efficient in the north.
April 22, 1862 - Union forces continue to occupy the Shenandoah Valley, now moving into Harrisonburg, Virginia.
April 22, 1862 - The division commanded by General William B. Franklin arrives at Fortress Monroe, Virginia to reinforce the Army of the Potomac.
April 22, 1862 - General Nathaniel P. Banks occupies Luray in western Virginia.
April 23, 1862 - Near Elizabeth, North Carolina, the U.S. Navy sinks a schooner at the mouth of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. Another useful waterway is closed to the South.
April 23, 1862 - Impatient with the progress of the mortar bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Philip below New Orleans, Commodore David Farragut decides to run his entire fleet past the fortifications at night.
April 24, 1862 - The CSS Nashville successfully runs the Union Blockade at Wilmington, North Carolina and delivers 60,000 stands of arms and 40 tons of gunpowder.
April 24, 1862 - Commodore Farragut runs his fleet of 17 vessels past the last defensive position on the southern Mississippi below New Orleans. Commodore Farragut's Flagship, the USS Hartford, is damaged but continues while one vessel is sunk. Commander John K. Mitchell of the Southern squadron loses seven steamers and gunboats, but the biggest loss is the CSS Manassas, an ironclad ram that is run ashore and burned. The fate of New Orleans is decided.
April 25, 1862 - George H. Thomas is promoted to Major General, U.S. Army.
April 25, 1862 - Fort Macon on Bogue Banks Island off Beaufort, North Carolina is bombarded by Union cannon fire. Confederate troops feebly return fire using their old cannons and quickly surrender. General John G. Parke of General Ambrose E. Burnsides' Army accepts the surrender of Colonel Moses J. White along with about 300 captives.
April 25, 1862 - Commodore Farragut captures the city of New Orleans. Locals burn about 35,000 bales of cotton and resist the assault but the fighting is brief due to the water running high allowing Union gunners to point their guns over the levees.
April 25, 1862 - About 4,000 Confederate troops and their commander, General Mansfield Lovell, escape New Orleans, heading inland.
April 25, 1862 - The still under construction ironclad CSS Mississippi is destroyed by Confederate authorities in New Orleans to prevent its capture.
April 26, 1862 - Union forces occupy New Market, Virginia.
April 26, 1862 - The Union Navy captures four important Confederate vessels off the South Carolina coast. The USS Onward captures the schooner Chase off Raccoon Key; the USS Flambeau captures the blockade-runner Active off Stono Inlet; the USS Santiago De Cuba captures the Mersey off Charleston; and the USS Uncas captures the schooner Belle off Charleston.
April 27, 1862 - General Benjamin Huger evacuates Norfolk on orders from General Joseph E. Johnston. The vessels and equipment in the Gosport Naval Yard are to be salvaged or destroyed by the departing workers.
April 27, 1862 - U.S. Naval forces accept the surrender of Fort Livingston on Bastian Bay, Louisiana and the crew of the USS Kittatinny hoists the Stars and Stripes. The same afternoon, Fort Pike, Fort Quitman, and Fort Wood also capitulate.
April 28, 1862 - Confederate General John K. Duncan stated that he needed authority from New Orleans to surrender Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip. Commander Porter resumed the shelling of the forts believing the ammunition was running out at both strongholds. The situation suddenly changed when General Duncan's 900 troops, many new immigrants to the area, mutiny and then surrender. They were quickly paroled.
April 28, 1862 - The CSS Louisiana, Defiance, and McRae, unfinished ironclads, are burned to prevent capture at New Orleans. The British steamer Oreto arrives at Nassau, Bahamas. It later emerged as the CSS Florida.
