Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
June 16, 1863 - Panic sets in at Washington, DC, as word of General Lee's crossing of the Potomac River at Point of Rocks, Maryland reaches the capital. General-in-chief Halleck and General Joseph Hooker exchange telegraph messages. Hooker wants to engage Lee above Washington, DC while Halleck directs the Union Army to follow Lee wherever he goes and relieve the garrison at Harpers Ferry, Virginia en route.
June 16, 1863 - General Joseph Hooker positions the Army of the Potomac at Fairfax Court House, Virginia to pursue.
June 16, 1863 - The USS 'New Era' sinks nine Confederate vessels north of Island #10 in the Mississippi River. An impending attack is avoided.
June 17, 1863 - The Army of Northern Virginia advances into Maryland with J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry screening General Lee's right flank. Union Cavalry commander Alfred Pleasanton is intent on discovering Lee's movement plans. Cavalry engagements at Aldie and Middleburg, Virginia result in casualties on both sides with little information of future intentions.
June 18, 1863 - General Alford Pleasanton is angered by the Union's losses at Aldie and Middleburg. He makes plans to storm Middleburg and destroy it. After hard fighting, Pleasanton is ordered back to Aldie. Middleburg is quickly reoccupied by Southern Troops.
June 18, 1863 - General Grant relieves General John McClernand from command of XIII Corps and moves General O.C.Ord into the position. McClernand is charged with insubordination when he denigrates the performance of other units and praises his own unit in the failed assault on Vicksburg.
June 19, 1863 - General Richard Ewell crosses the Potomac into Maryland with his Confederate II Corps. Generals Ambrose Hill and James Longstreet follow en masse.
June 19, 1863 - In an effort to penetrate the Confederate cavalry screen, Colonel J. Irwin Gregg leads his 16th Pennsylvania unit into Middleburg, Virginia and retakes the town.
June 20, 1863 - The first national bank is created by financier Jay Cooke in Philadelphia. Union war bonds are available through the banks.
June 20, 1863 - J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry is unsupported by the Confederate Army east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Union Cavalry General Pleasanton directs General Gregg to attack General Wade Hampton's Confederate Cavalry at Goose Creek, Virginia while Union General John Buford threatens Stuart's flank. General Stuart withdraws to Upperville.
June 20, 1863 - The new state of West Virginia joins the Union as the 35th state. The new West Virginia constitution calls for gradual elimination of slavery.
June 21, 1863 - General Hugh J. Kilpatrick's Union Cavalry skirmishes with the Confederate screening units at Upperville, Virginia. J.E.B. Stuart withdraws to Ashby's Gap. General Alfred Pleasanton reports to Joseph Hooker that the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia is definitely on the move.
June 22, 1863 - U.S. Army General Alfred Pleasanton is promoted to major general of cavalry.
June 22, 1863 - General Robert E. Lee orders J.E.B. Stuart to raid Union supply lines and to guard the army's right flank as Lee moves into Pennsylvania. These conflicting orders take General Stuart away from the main theater of operation within the next few days.
June 22, 1863 - General William Rosecrans and the Army of the Cumberland end six months of inactivity and begin a move from Murfreesboro, Tennessee to Tullahoma. This move is designed to keep Southern units stationary and away from the Vicksburg siege.
June 23, 1863 - General Lee's forces reach Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
