Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
January 22, 1862 - At Fort Henry on the Tennessee River, the Federal gunboat USS Lexington fires on the Confederate batteries with some return fire.
January 23, 1862 - General Thomas J. Jackson moves his forces from Romney in western Virginia to Winchester. Confederate General William W. Loring remains in Romney but complains to friends in the Confederate Congress that General Jackson deliberately left his troops in an exposed position only 20 miles from Union lines and asks for a change of orders.
January 23, 1862 - General Henry W. Halleck adds strength to martial law in St. Louis. Pro-southern leaning inhabitants that fail to pay an assessment to support pro-Union fugitives now have their property seized.
January 23, 1862 - Commodore Andrew H. Foote, short of sailors to man his gunboat squadron, asks Secretary of Navy Gideon Wells to appeal to the War Department to arrange a draft of Army troops to fill the void.
January 26, 1862 - General Pierre G. T. Beauregard is moved from the eastern theatre to the west and is under command of General Albert Sidney Johnston. Command in Virginia remains under General Joseph E. Johnston, still at odds with Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
January 26, 1862 - A second "stone fleet" is sunk in Charleston Harbor at the mouth of Maffitt's Channel.
January 27, 1862 - Emperor Napoleon III promises continued neutrality but declares that the American conflict infringes on trade relations with France.
January 27, 1862 - President Lincoln issues General War Order No.1. This mandates a general offensive along a wide front to be underway no later than February 22nd. Both Army and Navy forces and all commanders are under the order. The order was issued as Lincoln became exasperated with the slow response to verbal orders and lack of initiative on the part of Command Officers. The message sent was also to inform that War Command is now centered in Washington.
January 28, 1862 - Confederate Colonel John H. Morgan leads his cavalry against Union forces at Greensburg and Lebanon, Kentucky.
January 28, 1862 - Commodore Andrew Foote advises senior general Henry Halleck to begin operations against Fort Henry and Fort Donelson before the water level on the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers begins to recede.
