Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
November 18, 1862 - General Edwin Sumner and the Union Right Grand Division continues to occupy the Falmouth, Virginia side of the Rappahannock River directly opposite the heights of Fredericksburg, Virginia. A three-week delay in any activity from the Army of the Potomac allows General Longstreet to arrive with Confederate troops and greatly strengthens the defensive positions.
November 19, 1862 - General Burnsides arrives in Falmouth, Virginia. Confederate forces adjust their defense by moving General Longstreet's corps to Culpeper and cavalry troops of J.E.B. Stuart's to Warrenton.
November 19, 1862 - General Grant probes Confederate lines near Grand Junction, Tennessee as he continues toward Vicksburg, Mississippi.
November 20, 1862 - Confederates successfully attack Union Pickets at Bull Run Bridge, Virginia as their cavalry continues to occupy Warrenton and Leesburg, Virginia.
November 20, 1862 - General Robert E. Lee arrives in Fredericksburg to personally direct the Army of Northern Virginia.
November 20, 1862 - General Bragg shuffles commanders of the Army of Tennessee with the three corps now commanded by Generals Edmund Kirby-Smith, Leonidas Polk, and William J. Hardee.
November 21, 1862 - James A. Seddon is named new Confederate Secretary of War just four days after Gustavas W. Smith reluctantly accepted the position.
November 21, 1862 - General Burnside demands the surrender of Fredericksburg but the Mayor refuses. Burnside advises the evacuation of women and children.
November 21, 1862 - Nathan B. Forrest's cavalry is dispatched by General Braxton Bragg to disrupt communication lines in western Tennessee.
November 22, 1862 - Union Secretary of War Edwin Stanton releases the majority of political prisoners in army custody.
November 22, 1862 - General Burnside reverses himself and promises the Fredericksburg mayor that he will not fire on the town. Burnside also states that he expects no hostile action from inhabitants.
November 23, 1862 - Lieutenant William Cushing of the USS Ellis directs an armed party to seize two schooners near Jacksonville, North Carolina. The Confederate crews run the captured schooners aground and damage them by burning. Cushing and most of his party eventually escape in one of the damaged schooners.
