Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
May 13, 1862 - Harbor Pilot Robert Smalls and seven other slaves seize the steamship Planter in Charleston Harbor and turn it over to the Union Blockade Squadron.
May 13, 1862 - President Jefferson Davis sends his wife Varina out of Richmond as the Army of the Potomac continues to move slowly toward the Southern capital, causing panic.
May 13, 1862 - Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson withdraws through the Shenandoah Valley. Union General John C. Fremont re-occupies Franklin in western Virginia.
May 14, 1862 - Union forces stop at White House on the Pamunkey River about 20 miles from Richmond after skirmishes at Gaines' Cross Roads. General McClellan has numerical superiority but elects to wait for General Irvin McDowell to arrive with his reinforcements.
May 15, 1862 - General Joseph E. Johnston withdraws his Confederate forces along the Chickahominy River and now stands within three miles of Richmond.
May 15, 1862 - Rude behavior toward Union occupiers by ladies of New Orleans angers General Benjamin F. Butler. He issued his now infamous General Order No.28, the "Women Order." It stipulates that any women showing disrespect toward a Union soldier will be arrested and treated as a prostitute. The southern population responded with outrage, including threat of hanging if Butler is apprehended. Benjamin Butler was called "Beast Butler" the remainder of his career.
May 15, 1862 - General John C. Fremont moves on Princeton and Ravenswood in western Virginia.
May 15, 1862 - At Liverpool, England, the armed vessel named "290" is launched. This became the infamous CSS Alabama.
May 15, 1862 - Commodore John Rodgers moves the ironclads USS Monitor, Galena, and Naugatuck plus three wooden warships up the James River. At Drewry's Bluff, Confederate artillery gives battle and has the advantage of plunging fire from the heights while the US fleet can barely elevate their guns enough to return fire. The USS Galena is struck 40 times with serious damage. The USS Naugatuck suffers damage when a 100-pound Parrot gun explodes while firing. The fleet limps back to Norfolk.
May 15, 1862 - Corporal John B. Mackie is recognized for heroism under fire at the Drewry's Bluff battle. He is the first U.S. Marine Corp member eligible for the Medal of Honor.
May 16, 1862 - The mansion located at White House, Virginia on the Pamunkey River and formerly owned by General Robert E. Lee becomes General McClellan's headquarters
May 16, 1862 - General Butler orders two New Orleans newspapers (the Bee and the Delta) to close.
May 17, 1862 - General McDowell's I Corps is ordered south to join McClellan's Army near Richmond. McDowell has occupied Fredericksburg, Virginia since April 17th.
May 17, 1862 - General Jacob D. Cox leads Union Troops across the Flat Top Mountains of western Virginia in an effort to sever the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad near Princeton. Confederate General Humphrey Marshall attacks the Union troops at Princeton and saves the rail line.
May 17, 1862 - General Henry W. Halleck continues his slow move toward Corinth, Mississippi.
May 18, 1862 - Commander Stephen P. Lee demands the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Confederate General Martin Smith refuses. The fall of Vicksburg is more than a year away.
May 19, 1862 - President Lincoln countermands the "emancipation order" of General David Hunter that affected the Dept. of the South, (South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida). General Hunter issued the order on April 13th.
May 19, 1862 - Confederate troops led by General Thomas J. Jackson begin their move toward New Market, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley.
May 19, 1862 - Union gunboats and troop carriers move south on the Mississippi River to attack Fort Pillow, near Memphis, Tennessee.
