Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
August 15, 1861 - All Northerners are to leave Confederate territory within 40 days by order of President Jefferson Davis.
August 15, 1861 - Brigadier General Robert Anderson (formerly in command at Fort Sumter) is named new commander of the Dept. of the Cumberland, consisting of Kentucky and Tennessee. He continues to suffer from nervous exhaustion and retires shortly after this promotion.
August 15, 1861 - The 2nd Maine Volunteers mutiny. Sixty men are re-assigned to Dry Tortugas, a remote outpost, near Key West, Florida.
August 15, 1861 - President Lincoln authorizes transfer of troops to Missouri in response to General Fremont's request and recent Confederate success.
August 16, 1861 - Several newspapers in the Union, including the NY Daily News, NY Journal of Commerce, and the Brooklyn Eagle are in court for alleged pro-Confederate leanings.
August 16, 1861 - President Lincoln declares the southern states are in rebellion (also calling it an insurrection), and prohibits all commerce with them.
August 17, 1861 - The Department of the Potomac grows with the combining of the Departments of Northeastern Virginia, Washington, and the Shenandoah. This new army will carry the brunt of fighting in the East.
August 17, 1861 - Henry W. Halleck is promoted to Major General, U.S. Army.
August 17, 1861 - General John E. Wool replaces General Benjamin Butler as commander of the Dept. of Virginia and remains at Fortress Monroe.
August 18, 1861 - Three New York newspapers (see August 16 entry) are banned from publishing for alleged disloyalty.
August 18, 1861 - The heretofore successful Confederate Privateer Jefferson Davis is destroyed when it runs aground off St. Augustine, Florida.
August 19, 1861 - General Henry W. Halleck is ordered to Washington from California with the expectation that he will head the Army.
August 19, 1861- Union loyalists attack newspaper offices in Easton and West Chester, Pennsylvania. The Essex County Democrat editor is tarred and feathered for his Southern sympathies.
August 19, 1861 - George H. Thomas is promoted to Brigadier General by President Lincoln.
August 20, 1861 - The newly augmented Army of the Potomac comes under command of Major General George Brinton McClellan.
August 20, 1861 - Unionist leaders hold meetings in Wheeling, Western Virginia to consider separation of the western counties from the rest of Virginia.
August 20, 1861 - President Jefferson Davis writes to General Joseph E. Johnston about complaints of poor hospital care and lack of food.
***Nothing found for the next three days.***
August 24, 1861 - The Army of the Potomac is further strengthened by the inclusion of the Department of Pennsylvania.
August 24, 1861 - President Lincoln informs Kentucky Governor Beriah Magoffin that he will not remove pro-Union forces from this neutral state.
August 24, 1861 - At Richmond, the Confederacy appoints three new commissioners to Europe: John Slidell to France, James Mason to Britain, and Pierre Rost to Spain. They are to gain recognition for the Confederacy and act as purchasing agents for arms, materials, and supplies.
August 24, 1861 - Mrs. Rose Greenhow and Mrs. Philip Phillips are arrested in Washington on charges of corresponding with Confederates.
