Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
January 27, 1863 - An anti-Union editorial appeared in the Philadelphia Journal newspaper. Newspaperman A. D. Boileau was arrested.
January 27, 1863 - Shoshone attacks on area settlers and miners in the Great Basin Region resulted in a cavalry expedition against the tribe on the Bear River, Idaho Territory. Led by Colonel Patrick E. Conner, the First California Cavalry of 300 riders carries out a two-pronged attack against Chief Bear Hunter and his 300 warriors. An extended conflict ended with 224 warriors killed and 164 women and children prisoners. Federals lost 21 dead and 46 wounded. The Shoshone forfeit all claims in the Great Basin Region and Colonel Conner is promoted to brigadier general.
January 27, 1863 - The Confederate raider "Alabama" burns and sinks another Union vessel. This time it is the brig "Chastelaine" in the Caribbean.
January 28, 1863 - General Theophilus Holmes, Commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department, receives a message from President Davis in Richmond saying: "The loss of either of the two positions-Vicksburg or Port Hudson-would destroy communication with the Trans-Mississippi Department and inflict upon the Confederacy an injury which I am sure you have not failed to appreciate."
January 29, 1863 - In light of Union Admiral Porter's move toward Milliken's Bend on the Yazoo River, President Jefferson Davis asks General Pemberton in command at Vicksburg, Mississippi: "Has anything or can anything be done to obstruct the navigation from Yazoo Pass down?"
January 29, 1863 - The Confederate government authorizes a loan of $15 million from French financiers.
January 30, 1863 - General Grant is officially placed in charge at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana and begins formulation of a new strategy to capture Vicksburg.
January 30, 1863 - Admiral Porter orders a sweep of the Yazoo River ports for cotton that can be confiscated to deprive the Confederacy of this asset. He also assigns the "USS Linden" to lend aid in General Grant's plan to dig a new canal to circumvent Vicksburg.
January 31, 1863 - General Braxton Bragg continues his withdrawal from Murfreesboro, Tennessee while Federal troops try to overtake his retreat. A skirmish near Dover results in 300 Southern soldiers captured and five Union casualties.
January 31, 1863 - Confederate rams "CSS Palmetto State" and "Chicora" sortie against the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Charleston, South Carolina. Admiral Samuel Du Pont suffers damage to the "USS Keystone State" and the lose of the merchantman "Mercedes" while under a thick haze. The Union has 24 dead and 24 injured seamen but the Blockade Force remains in place.
February 1, 1863 - The Confederate dollar's value falls to purchasing power of about 20 cents.
February 1, 1863 - Union forces capture Franklin, Tennessee.
February 1, 1863 - The ironclad "USS Montauk" under command of Captain John L. Worden attacks Fort McCalister on the Ogeechee River, Georgia. Other Union vessels involved include the "USS Seneca," "Wissahickon," "Dawn," and the mortar boat "C.P. Williams." Inflicting heavy damage on the fort while taking 48 rounds of cannon fire with little damage to the ships, they disengage after a four-hour battle.
February 2, 1863 - The new Department of Washington D.C. is organized. This unit is designated XXII Corps.
February 2, 1863 - A Mississippi River levee is cut by Colonel James H. Wilson's men, raising the water level on the Yazoo River to allow gunboats to navigate.
February 2, 1863 - The Federal ram "USS Queen of the West" under Colonel Charles Ellet runs past Vicksburg's batteries taking 12 hits with little damage. She attacks the Confederate vessel "City of Vicksburg" before moving up the Red River to destroy supply caches.
