Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
Sept. 27, 1861 - President Lincoln and General George B. McClellan discuss a new offensive in Virginia. The discussion becomes heated with Lincoln criticizing the general's inactivity and McClellan insisting that the Army of the Potomac is not ready for combat.
Sept. 28, 1861 - The 71st Pennsylvania under Colonel Edward D. Baker successfully defends their small force in a skirmish near Vanderburgh's House, Virginia.
Sept. 28, 1861 - Confederate schooner San Juan is captured by the USS Susquehanna near Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
Sept. 28, 1861 - Thomas C. Hindman is promoted to brigadier general, C.S.A.
Sept. 29, 1861 - The 71st Pennsylvania is accidentally fired on by the 69th Pennsylvania near Munson's Hill, Virginia. Fatalities result. The Pennsylvania 71st, formerly the California Regiment also known as The Fire Zouaves Regiment, still wore gray uniforms.
Sept. 29, 1861 - Union activity is anticipated in North Carolina resulting in C.S.A. General Daniel H. Hill being ordered from Virginia into North Carolina. Hill was a West Point graduate, had resigned from the Army in 1849, and was Superintendent of the North Carolina Military Institute from 1859 until the war began.
Sept. 29, 1861 - The USS Susquehanna has continued success when it overtakes the Confederate schooner Baltimore off Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina.
Sept. 29, 1861 - Skirmishes continue along the Confederate defensive line across southern Kentucky. The 12th Kentucky under Colonel William A. Hoskins engages the Confederates at Albany, Kentucky and Travisville, Tennessee.
Sept. 30, 1861 - Confederate scout Captain R. Hardeman leads action against hostile Native Americans near Camp Robledo, New Mexico Territory.
Sept. 30, 1861 - The USS Niagara, operating on the Mississippi River, captures the Confederate pilot boat Frolic near South West Pass. South West Pass is in the Delta Region south of New Orleans. The same day the USS Dart captures the Confederate schooner Zavalla off Vermillion Bay, south of New Iberia, Louisiana.
October 1, 1861 - At Centerville, Virginia, Generals Joseph E. Johnston, Pierre G. T. Beauregard, and Gustavus W. Smith meet with Confederate President Jefferson Davis. They continue to discuss strategy and ultimately agree to consolidate their position and delay a planned offensive operation into Northern held territory until at least next spring. Pres. Davis also turns down a request from the generals to issue a call for 20,000 more troops.
October 1, 1861 - General Benjamin Butler is reassigned to the Dept. of New England, recently created to raise and train new troops. October 1, 1861 - Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles opposes letters of reprisal or complaint against the South, as this would imply recognition of the South's national sovereignty.
October 1, 1861 - Confederate navel vessels capture the USS Fanny off Plimlico Sound, North Carolina and rename it the CSS Fanny.
October 2, 1861 - U.S. Senator John C. Breckinridge, about to be expelled from Congress, flees Kentucky to avoid arrest as a traitor. He joins the Confederate Army.
October 2, 1861 - Pro-Union forces from Cairo, Illinois attack a camp at Charleston, Missouri. Intermittent strife continues in southeast Missouri.
October 3, 1861 - Governor Thomas Moore of Louisiana bans cotton exports in an attempt to force England and France to recognize the independence of the Confederate States of America.
October 3, 1861 - The New York 26th and the New York 31st move into Confederate territory. General Henry W. Slocum dispatches the 26th to Pohick Church, Virginia while the 31st marches to Springfield Station, Virginia as directed by General William B. Franklin. Skirmishes erupt at both sites.
October 3, 1861 - General Joseph Reynolds leads 5,000 Union troops from Cheat Mountain toward Camp Barrow, a Confederate position along the Greenbrier River in western Virginia. After two determined attacks, Reynolds withdraws back to Cheat Mountain and an impasse settles over the region.
October 4, 1861 - The Confederacy reaches accord with the Shawnee, Seneca, and Cherokee in Indian Territory. An agreement with the Osage was settled a few days earlier.
October 4, 1861 - President Lincoln approves one ironclad to be built as proposed after John Ericsson's new design. The first of the Union's ironclads, the Monitor, is planned.
October 4, 1861 - The USS South Carolina captures the Confederate schooners Ezilda and Joseph H. Toone at South West Pass on the Mississippi.
