Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
March 3, 1863 - The U.S. Congress resolves to condemn all offers to mediate the war as "foreign intervention."
March 3, 1863 - The Idaho Territory is formed by an act of Congress. This land is taken from the Washington and Dakota Territories.
March 3, 1863 - President Lincoln signs the Federal Draft Act. All able-bodied men between 20 and 46 years of age are eligible for military service.
March 3, 1863 - Prior to adjourning, the 37th U.S. Congress approves a $300 million loan to fund the war effort for the year, officially suspends writs of habeas corpus, establishes the National Academy of Sciences, and names financier Jay Cook as a Federal agent to promote the sale of war bonds.
March 3, 1863 - Ironclads USS Passaic, Nahant, and Patapsco; gunboats from USS Seneca, Dawn, and Wisssahicken plus three mortar barges engage batteries at Fort McAllister, Georgia with firing lasting more than six hours. Little damage is inflicted by either side but Union crews gained needed training that later proved beneficial at Charleston, South Carolina.
March 4, 1863 - At Franklin, Tennessee, General Earl Van Dorn leads Confederate forces in a skirmish. The Union cavalry is able to escape but the Union infantry units surrender.
March 5, 1863 - In Columbus, Ohio, Union troops damage the office of the newspaper "Crisis" for allegedly printing pro-southern editorials.
March 5, 1863 - Union Colonel John Coburn, with 2,857 soldiers, cavalry, and a six cannon battery is attacked by General Van Dorn's Confederate force at Thompson's Station, Tennessee. Rather than retreat, Coburn decides to attack the enemy camp. General Nathan Forrest's cavalry attacks Coburn's position and is held off several times. Ultimately, Coburn is forced to surrender. While the Union loss includes 1,221 soldiers captured, the long lasting story is that bad blood between Van Dorn and Forrest over the unequal sharing of captured Federal stores nearly results in a duel.
March 6, 1863 - Confederate raider CSS Florida captures and burns the USS Star of Peace at sea. The Florida is under command of Lieutenant John N. Maffitt.
March 7, 1863 - Song sheets, called "secession music," are confiscated in Baltimore, Maryland.
March 7, 1863 - Colonel Charles C. Dodge accuses the 103rd Pennsylvania Volunteers of plundering, unauthorized burning, and disrespectful conduct toward local women as his command moves from New Bern, North Carolina to Mattamuskeet.
March 7, 1863 - General Nathan P. Banks begins to move from New Orleans to Port Hudson, Louisiana on his way to join General Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
March 8, 1863 - At Fairfax County Courthouse, Virginia, Captain John Mosby's Rangers capture General Edwin H. Stoughton, 38 prisoners, and 58 horses. Labeled one of the most daring and embarrassing acts of the war, Mosby awakens General Stoughton by slapping him on his backside in his bed.
March 8, 1863 - Confederates fell trees across the Yazoo River and further slow the Union advance on that waterway as they attempt to approach Vicksburg by the "backdoor." Two added days are used to clear the trees and overhanging brush left by the retreating southern soldiers.
March 9, 1863 - The 22 boat expedition under the command of General Leonard F. Ross clears the Tallahatchie River at the confluence of the Yazoo and Yalobusha Rivers. They are moving to assist at Vicksburg. They encounter a small Confederate fortification named Fort Pemberton at Greenwood, Mississippi and stop to bombard it. Over the next week, their continuous contact with Fort Pemberton further delays the Yazoo River approach to Vicksburg and ultimately will cause the termination of this attempt on the Yazoo.
