April 14,1864-The Manhattan Fair in New York City raises $1 million for the Sanitary Commission, a relief organization for the U.S. Army. President Lincoln was guest speaker.
April 14,1864-Confederate cavalry troops commanded by General Abraham Buford read in the local newspaper that General Forrest's recent raid missed 140 army horses concealed in a foundry in Paducah, Kentucky. Buford moves on the lightly guarded foundry and takes the horses when the Union guards retreat to Fort Anderson.
April 15,1864-Tennessee Governor Andrew Jackson endorses the principles of emancipation in a speech at Knoxville.
April 15,1864-The Federal gunboat USS Eastport grounds itself on shore after striking a Confederate torpedo in the Red River near Grand Ecore, Louisiana. Repair are made.
April 16,1864-The U.S. Army reports 146,634 Confederate prisoners of war under Army control.
April 17,1864-General Ulysses S. Grant suspends all prisoner exchanges severely restricting the number of trained soldiers in the South.
April 17,1864-General Frederick Steele dispatched a foraging expedition to Camden, Arkansas in search of corn. The bulk of the 695 soldiers involved are from the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers traveling with two cannons and 198 wagons. En route, and additional 475 men join the expedition.
April 17,1864-About 7,000 Confederate's under General Robert Hoke attack at Plymouth, North Carolina where 2,834 Union infantry, cavalry, and artillery are housed. The Union post is further supported by offshore batteries.
April 18,1864-General Hoke continues the attack and captures Fort Wessels. The Union forces resist strongly and move to Fort Williams. Hoke's success depends on the arrival of the Confederate ram CSS Albemarle.
April 18,1864-Confederate Generals John S. Marmaduke and Samuel B. Maxey combine forces and attack General Steele's small Union camp at Poison Springs, Arkansas. The 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer troops resist but are far outnumbered and eventually yield. General Marmaduke orders cannon fire but is overruled by General Maxey. General Maxey secures the wagons. Poison Springs is a significant Union defeat. Most of the Union dead are African American volunteers captured in battle and slaughtered by Missouri, Arkansas, and Choctaw Confederates.
April 18,1864-The CSS Albemarle departs Hamilton, North Carolina and sails down the Roanoke River toward the beseiged Plymouth. Engine trouble and steering problems slow progress.
April 19,1864-The huge Confederate steam ram CSS Albemarle attacks at Plymouth, North Carolina, sinking the USS Southfield, killing ship commander C.W. Flusser. The Union vessels draw off and the Confederates control the water approaches to Plymouth.
