Friday, November 22, 2013

September 2 - 8, 1862

Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President 

Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable

September 2,1862 - General Pope orders his Union forces to retreat all the way to the edge of Washington, D.C. Second Manassas (Second Bull Run) concludes, a Union loss. 

September 2, 1862 - President Lincoln restores General George B. McClellan to command of the Army of the Potomac. The soldiers hail the decision while the President's Cabinet advises against the move. General Pope is disgraced and without an official command. 

September 2, 1862 - Generals Robert E. Lee and D. H. Hill combine their forces near Chantilly, Virginia. Combined strength is 70,000, compensating for loss of 30,000 men at Manassas.

September 2, 1862 - Union forces abandon Winchester but the Union forces at Spencer Court House in western Virginia are captured by General Albert Jenkins' Confederate Cavalry.

September 2, 1862 - Lexington, Kentucky is occupied by General Edmund Kirby-Smith's Confederate unit. This prompts Martial Law to be declared in Cincinnati as Confederates are as close as Richmond, Kentucky.

September 3, 1862 - General John Pope meets with General in Chief Halleck and lays the Manassas debacle on General Fritz John Porter's refusal to obey orders and General George B. McClellan's failure to supply timely support.

September 3, 1862 - Confederate forces occupy Winchester, Virginia and engage in skirmishes at Harper's Ferry, Falls Church, and Bunker Hill. General Edmond Kirby-Smith holds Lexington and moves on to Frankfort, the Provisional Capitol of Kentucky, amid cheering supporters.

September 3, 1862 - General Lee probes Washington defensive positions and decides not to attack. He moves toward Leesburg, Virginia on the Potomac River. 

September 3, 1862 - The USS Essex bombards the city of Natchez, Mississippi. Essex commander William D. Porter receives surrender of the city.

September 4, 1862 - The Army of Northern Virginia crosses the Potomac River at White's Ford, Virginia and moves on into Maryland. Union troops evacuate Frederick, Maryland.

September 4, 1862 - The Naval Investigating Committee of the Confederate Congress supports Navy Secretary Stephen R. Mallory in spite of the loss of New Orleans and other ports.

September 4, 1862 - General Albert G. Jackson briefly moves his Confederate Cavalry across the Ohio River into Point Pleasant, western Virginia.

September 5, 1862 - General Pope is officially relieved of command and called to Washington for reassignment. General Halleck combines the Army of Virginia with the Army of the Potomac, all under the command of General McClellan.

September 5, 1862 - The Kanawha Valley of western Virginia becomes the site of campaigning by Confederate General William W. Loring.

September 6, 1862 - General Pope assumes command of the newly developed Department of the Northwest, which incorporates Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, plus the Dakota and Nebraska Territories. The new command is the military equivalent of political exile. General Pope now deals with Chief Little Crow and the Sioux.

September 6, 1862 - General Thomas J. Jackson move his Confederate troops to Frederick, Maryland and occupies the town. Expecting a greeting as liberators, they are received coolly.

September 6, 1862 - Federal forces abandon Aqua Creek and leave tons of supplies behind. General McClellan moves the combined army north to defend Washington.

September 7, 1862 - The news of General Lee joining General Jackson at Frederick, Maryland, prompts General McClellan to move north of Washington to meet the threat.

September 7, 1862 - Union forces occupy Bowling Green, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee. Confederate General Braxton Bragg moves past General Buehl's Union forces and marches his Army of the Mississippi into Kentucky.

September 7, 1862 - The USS Essex receives 14 hits as it tries to pass Port Hudson, Louisiana under command of Commodore David D. Porter.

September 8, 1862 - General Nathaniel P. Banks takes over command of the defenses around Washington, D.C.

September 8, 1862 - A mounted troop from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas pursues Confederate guerrillas under William C. Quantrill.

September 8, 1862 - Confederate successes by the raiders CSS Alabama and Florida (both British built) are countered by a 'Flying Squadron' consisting of the USS Wachusett, Dacotah, Cimarron, Sanoma, Tioga, Octorara, and Santiago de Cuba. This squadron is assembled in the West Indies and is commanded by Commodore John Wilkes.