Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable
September 1, 1863 - Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris is reassured by President Jefferson Davis that troops, rifles, and supplies are being sent to General Braxton Bragg's forces.
September 1, 1863 - Union vessels fire another 627 rounds toward Fort Sumter and Battery Wagner at Charleston. Both positions continue to resist.
September 1, 1863 - General Rosecrans crosses the Tennessee River and marches his force toward Chattanooga, Tennessee.
September 1, 1863 - At Charleston Harbor, Admiral Dahlgren leads his ironclads in action against Fort Sumter. This night action allows the vessels to move to within 500 yards where they begin firing. The attack is suspended at daybreak. Shore batteries score 70 hits on the ironclads.
September 2, 1863 - Alabama's State Legislature approves the use of slaves to fill their military manpower shortage.
September 2, 1863 - Union forces construct earthworks within 80 yards of Battery Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina. Confederate authorities prepare an evacuation plan.
September 2, 1863 - General William Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland pursues retreating Confederates crossing the Tennessee River.
September 2, 1863 - General Burnside's Union force occupies Knoxville, Tennessee, which stalls all Confederate rail traffic between eastern and western Tennessee. Rail transport for the Confederate forces must now move through Georgia en route to or from Virginia and western Tennessee.
September 4, 1863 - At New Orleans, General Ulysses S. Grant is badly injured in a fall from his horse.
September 4, 1863 - Confederate guerrillas capture four prisoners from the 18th Iowa at Quincy, Missouri. They execute the four men. Federal forces ambush Confederate bushwhackers at Big Creek, Missouri and six southerners are killed.
September 4, 1863 - A joint amphibious expedition is planned by Admiral John H. Bell of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. The ships will sail from New Orleans to Sabine Pass, Texas to dissuade French occupation forces in Mexico from crossing the Rio Grande.
September 5, 1863 - British Secretary Lord Russell confiscates the two "Laird Rams" that Britain built for the Confederacy. American Ambassador Charles F. Adams urged the delivery to be stopped. A diplomatic sore point between Washington D.C. and London ended with Lord Russell's intervention.
September 5, 1863 - General William Rosecrans divides his army into three units to cover three widely spaced mountain passes. Rosecrans is convinced that Braxton Bragg will soon flee Chattanooga. Meanwhile, President Jefferson Davis asks General Bragg, "What is your plan of Operation? Can you ascertain intentions of the enemy?"
September 6, 1863 - General Beauregard secretly evacuates Battery Wagner and Battery Gregg on Morris Island. This concludes 60 days of nearly continuous bombardment by Union land and naval forces and the loss of about 300 of the 900 man Confederate force.
September 7, 1863 - Admiral Dahlgren demands the surrender of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. When the defenders refuse, the USS Weehawken and the USS New Ironsides approach the fort. The Weehawken runs aground and the New Ironsides protects the stricken ship by moving between Fort Moultrie and the vessel. The USS New Ironsides takes an additional 50 direct hits and both vessels retire to make repairs.
September 7, 1863 - Army General William B. Franklin arrives off the bar at Sabine Pass, Texas and joins Admiral Bell in this joint exercise.
