Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
March 10, 1863 - In two political opinions, the Supreme Court upheld President Lincoln's claims. The Court agreed that only Congress has the power to declare war but the President, as commander-in-chief, has the authority to suppress rebellion. In the second case (called the Prize Case) the naval blockade is approved by a 5-4 vote with the Court declaring the right of a sovereign nation to conduct a blockade while denying that the Confederate States of America actually exists.
March 10, 1863 - President Lincoln signs a general amnesty for all soldiers presently absent without leave. They must rejoin their units by April 1,1863.
March 10, 1863 - President Jefferson Davis travels to Vicksburg to confer with General John C. Pemberton.
March 11, 1863 - The gunboat USS Chillicothe engages the batteries at Fort Pemberton and is forced to withdraw in damaged condition, the result of countless hits. (See March 9th entry.)
March 12, 1863 - The USS Hartford, Admiral David Farragut's flagship, arrives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as she moves up the Mississippi toward Vicksburg.
March 13, 1863 - In Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate Ordnance Laboratory on Brown's Island explodes with 70 causalities, mainly women workers.
March 13, 1863 - The USS Huntsville and USS Octorara capture British blockade runners Surprise near Charlottes Island, Florida and Florence Nightingale in the Bahamas.
March 13, 1863 - The ironclad USS Chillicothe, partially repaired from the March 11 encounter, rejoins the gunboats Baron de Kalb and Matamora in an exchange of cannon fire at Fort Pemberton, Mississippi. The Chillicothe receives an additional 38 hits and the flotilla withdraws up the Tallahatchie River.
March 14, 1863 - The Army of the Gulf, 30,000 men commanded by General Nathaniel P. Banks, advances on Port Hudson, Louisiana. They establish a series of artillery batteries to assist Admiral Farragut's fleet in passing Port Hudson.
March 14, 1863 - Admiral Farragut's squadron of seven ships attempts a run past Port Hudson at 11:00 P.M. and only two ships, the flagship USS Hartford and the Albatross, which is lashed to the Hartford, are able to pass successfully. The remaining ships are driven back downriver. Farragut is cut off from the rest of his fleet for several weeks. The attempt fails and the Federal authorities decide that Port Hudson is too strong to be bypassed by gunboats and therefore Port Hudson must be reduced prior to another attempt.
March 15, 1863 - Confederate raider CSS Alabama, commanded by Captain Raphael Semmes, captures the Union ship Punjab off Brazil and releases her under bond.
March 16, 1863 - Federal gunboats of the Yazoo River expedition again engage Fort Pemberton, Greenwood, Mississippi. The USS Chillicothe takes eight more hits and drifts helplessly. General Ross prepares to withdraw downstream and General Ulysses S. Grant terminates his attempts to attack Vicksburg by the backdoor.
March 16, 1863 - After a meeting with General Grant at Hill's Plantation, Mississippi, Admiral David D. Porter leads his five ironclads up Deer Creek in an attempt to reach Steele's Bayou from the northeast. General William Tecumseh Sherman's 2nd Division, XV Corps, arrives at Hill's Plantation to aid in Admiral Porter's advance on the Mississippi.
March 16, 1863 - Philip H. Sheridan is promoted to major general, U.S. Army.
