Friday, November 22, 2013

November 25 - December 1, 1862

Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President
Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable


November 25, 1862 - Confederate Cavalry captures Henderson, Tennessee and conducts a raid into Maryland, near Poolesville, Md.

November 25, 1862 - The USS 'Kittatinny' captures the British blockade runner 'Matilda' at sea.

November 26, 1862 - President Lincoln travels to Aquia Creek, Virginia to confer with General Ambrose E. Burnside. The discussion centers on tactics for the planned assault on Fredericksburg. The president favors a multi-pronged attack while Burnside wishes for a direct assault. The direct attack is chosen after a lengthy debate.

November 26, 1862 - General Braxton Bragg completes the movement of all Confederate troops out of Kentucky. General Bragg vows to maintain a strong presence in middle Tennessee near his current location at Murfreesboro.

November 26, 1862 - In navel activity, the USS Mount Vernon captures the Confederate blockade runner 'Levi Rowe' off North Carolina and the USS 'Kittatinny' seizes a Confederate schooner in the Gulf of Mexico.

November 27, 1862 - Federal forces evacuate Rienzi, Missouri and move toward Helena, Arkansas.

November 28, 1862 - In skirmish action at Frankfort, Virginia, 100 Confederate prisoners are captured.

November 28, 1862 - Union General James G. Blunt leads 5,000 men against 2,000 Confederate Cavalrymen at Cane Hill, Arkansas. In the nine-hour battle, General John S. Marmanduke's cavalry is driven into the Boston Mountains where General Joseph O. Shelby is positioned with a rearguard detachment. With near equal numbers, the battle breaks off with about 45 causalities on each side.

November 29, 1862 - With the Confederates knowing about General Blunt's small detachment in Arkansas, at least 100 miles from any Union assistance, Confederate General Thomas C. Hindman begins a march overland to attack the isolated column.

November 29, 1862 - U.S. Army promotions include Winfield S. Hancock, George G. Meade, John F. Reynolds, John M. Schofield, and Daniel E. Sickles, all promoted to major general.

November 29, 1862 - Confederate General John B. Magruder takes charge of the District of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. His first priority is the recapture of Galveston. Men and ships are assembled and two steamers are refitted with bales of cotton as "armor". These "Cotton Clads" will figure prominently in the planned capture of Galveston, Texas.

November 30, 1862 - With the delays in moving pontoons and other bridge equipment, General Burnside finally arrives in Falmouth, Virginia and he can move across the Rappahannock to Fredericksburg. The slow move allows General James Longstreet to move more that 35,000 Southern forces to the heights above the town.

November 30, 1862 - The Confederate raider 'Alabama' outruns the pursuit of the USS 'Vanderbilt'. The 'Alabama' captures the Union Bark 'Parker Cook' off the Leeward Islands.

December 1, 1862 - The third session of the 37th Congress convenes. President Lincoln presents a plan of compensated emancipation but there is little enthusiasm. He also mentions help for Blacks wanting to be colonized, again without positive reaction for the plan.

December 1, 1862 - Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles makes his second annual report to President Lincoln. There are 427 ships in commission mounting a total of 1,577 guns, crews numbering 28,000 men plus 12,000 mechanics and laborers.