Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
April 29, 1862 - Timothy Webster, an employee of the Pinkerton Federal Secret Service, is hanged by Confederate authorities in Richmond. Webster was an important spy for the north.
April 29, 1862 - CSA General Joseph E. Johnston defends his decision to sacrifice Norfolk and Gosport Navy facilities as a better choice than to lose them and his entire Confederate Army as well. The siege artillery and Union force build-up along the Warwick River near Yorktown, Virginia causes him to inform his superior that he will be moving his army inland as soon as practical. Norfolk was abandoned on April 22, 1862.
April 29, 1862 - New Orleans officials formally surrender the city to Federal authorities. The crew from the USS Pensacola raised the U. S. flag over the
U. S. Customs House on orders from Commodore Farragut. This caused indignation from city inhabitants.
April 29, 1862 - General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson moves his forces from Staunton, Virginia to Port Republic, Virginia and sends Colonel Turner Ashby and his cavalry toward Harrisonburg, recently occupied by Union forces.
April 29, 1862 - General Henry Halleck directs General Grant to move from Pittsburg Landing toward General Beauregard's position at Corinth, Mississippi. Halleck became overall commander of the Army of the Mississippi on March 11,1862 and is now located at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee with about 100,000 troops in his combined army.
April 30, 1862 - General Thomas J. Jackson forces a 92-mile march plus 25 miles by rail in under four days and in heavy rain. They were moving toward Staunton, Virginia where Jackson intends to confront General John C. Fremont's 20,000-man army. For the rest of the Civil War, Johnston's troops refer to themselves as "Foot Cavalry."
April 30, 1862 - General Halleck completes the reorganization of his Armies of the Mississippi. General Grant is second in command, George H. Thomas (Army of the Tennessee) has the right wing, John Pope (Army of the Mississippi) left wing, John McClernand reserve wing, and Don C. Buell (Army of the Ohio) makes up the largest army ever assembled in North America. The 120,000-man army moves toward Corinth where General Beauregard has 53,000 Confederate troops.
May 1, 1862 - William Tecumseh Sherman is promoted to major general, U.S. Army.
May 1, 1862 - General Benjamin Butler and 15,000 Federal Troops enter New Orleans. Butler's dictatorial rule created wide spread ill feeling toward the north.
May 2, 1862 - General George McClellan continues to build siege artillery positions along the Warwick River line, now with more than 100 heavy guns and mortars. McClellan's opposition is largely an illusionary force including "Quaker Cannons" and continuous counter marching.
May 3, 1862 - General Joseph E. Johnston begins the withdrawal of his 55,000-man force from the Yorktown-Warwick River line. The southern troops fire some distracting cannon fire but General McClellan is astonished that the Confederate Army could vanish. The Confederates retreat through Williamsburg toward Richmond while the Union begins to move up the Yorktown Peninsula.
May 4, 1862 - Cavalry skirmishing takes place around old Williamsburg involving General J.E.B. Stuart and General George Steadman. The Confederates take the day when General Lafayette McLaws overruns Union troops under General Philip St. George Cook.
May 5, 1862 - President Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton board the steamer Miami to sail to Hampton Roads. They are on a mission to prod General McClellan to greater action.
May 5, 1862 - The largest battle to ever take place in Williamsburg, Virginia is indecisive with heavy causalities on both sides. The Confederate troops continue to withdraw toward Richmond and the Union troops occupy Williamsburg.
May 5, 1862 - Congress authorizes the creation of the Department of Agriculture.
