Civil War - 150 Years ago this week - February 22-28, 1865

February 22,1865-Kentucky, a neutral border state, rejects the 13th Amendment while Tennessee voters approve a new state constitution abolishing slavery.

February 22,1865-General Joseph E. Johnston is appointed commander of the Department of South Carolina by General Robert E. Lee.

February 22,1865-Fort Strong on the Cape Fear River comes under Union command when Confederate forces evacuate. Admiral David D. Porter personally runs up the Stars and Stripes.

February 22,1865-General Sherman's army approaches Rocky Mount, South Carolina after an intense skirmish at Camden. The march direction suggests the target is Charlotte but Sherman's intent is to join General Schofield at Goldsborough.

February 23,1865-Minnesota ratifies the 13th Amendment.

February 23,1865-The XX Corps of General Sherman's Army crosses the Catawba River, South Carolina and approach the North Carolina state line.

February 24,1865-General Sherman complains to General Wade Hampton concerning the murder of Union foragers by Southern troops. Hampton responds that his order is to kill anyone engaged in burning homes or barns. General Hampton sends this note to General Sherman; "This order shall remain in force so long as you disgrace the profession of arms by allowing your men to destroy private dwellings".

February 25,1865-General Joseph E. Johnston arrives in Charlotte, North Carolina to take command of the combined forces left from the Army of Tennessee and Confederate force from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The men represent about 25,000 hungry, ragged, and worn out soldiers, many of them deserters rounded up by General Johnston. Johnston's sentiments were recorded; "In my opinion, these troops form an army far too weak to cope with Sherman".

February 25,1865-General Innis N. Palmer, commander of Union forces at New Bern, North Carolina is ordered to rebuild all railroad tracks in the direction of Goldsborough.

February 26,1865-A day of heavy rain hampers all plans. General Winfield S. Hancock assumes command of the Department of West Virginia.

February 27,1865-10,000 cavalry troops under Generals Phillip Sheridan and Wesley Merritt move down the Shenandoah Valley toward Lynchburg, Virginia. General Thomas C. Devlin commands the 1st Cavalry Division and General George H. Custer commands the 3rd Cavalry Division. Their task is to sever the Virginia Central Railroad and the James River Canal.

February 27,1865-Commodore John H. Tucker lands 350 Confederate sailors and officers at Fayetteville, North Carolina with orders to march to Richmond and form the core of a naval brigade.

February 28,1865-The most severe fighting in South Carolina took place at Rocky Mount and Cheraw, near the North Carolina border. General Sherman is slowed here for several days before Confederates are forced across the Pee Dee River and the Union Army enters North Carolina.

Civil War - 150 Years ago this week - February 15-21,1865

February 15,1865-Confederate forces in Columbia, South Carolina bombard Union encampments across the Congaree River as both wings of General Sherman's army arrives south of the capital. The Confederates are shelling the approaching army to cover their evacuation north.

February 15,1865-The Union steamer 'Knickerbacker' runs hard aground at Smith's Point, Virginia and is burned by Confederate forces.

February 16,1865-Nevada, Indiana, and Louisiana ratify the 13th amendment. Nine states have completed their voting to date.

February 16,1865-To execute General Schofield's plan to evict Confederate defenders from Wilmington, North Carolina, General Jacob D. Cox ferries his XXII Corps up the Cape Fear River toward Smithville, North Carolina.

February 16,1865-Federal artillery batteries begin to shell Columbia, South Carolina. General Oliver O. Howard's troops deploy a pontoon bridge across the Broad River north of the city. Generals Beauregard and Hampton complete the evacuation of their forces from Columbia while General William Hardee flees Wilmington.

February 16,1865-The XXIII Corps of Schofield's army are ferried from Fort Fisher, North Carolina to Smithville on the Cape Fear River. The transports and gunboats are supplied by Admiral David D. Porter.

February 17,1865-The U.S. Congress refuses to accept any and all debts accrued by the Confederacy and individual Confederate  States.

February 17,1865-In the morning, town officials of Columbia, South Carolina ride out to surrender the city formally to Union General William T. Sherman and his army. The last of the Southern cavalry flees the city as the Northern troops occupy the capital. Officers and staff settle into a few of the fine mansions.

February 17,1865-By nightfall, blazes break out in Columbia. Many Union troops and some 20,000 residents fight the blaze but wind blown flames consume two thirds of the city. The burned capital stood as a symbol of the savage cruelty of Sherman's army while General Sherman was quick to blame the fleeing cavalry for setting the fires. The mansion owned by General Wade Hampton was completely destroyed. General Hampton was commander of the Southern cavalry opposing Sherman.

February 17,1865-Federal warships bombard Fort Anderson, North Carolina. Admiral Porter's crew built a fake ironclad from a scow, limber, and canvas. They named the fake "Old Bogey" and pushed her to the head of the line where she drew most of the fire with little damage to other ships.

February 18,1865-Robert E. Lee reluctantly agrees to arming slaves to fight for the southern cause. He feels that the slaves must be employed as freed men.

February 18,1865-General Sherman orders all factories, supply houses, and railroad facilities in Columbia to be burned to deny their use to the Confederacy.

February 18,1865-General Alexander Schimmelfenning leads his Union forces into Charleston, South Carolina and captures the town.

February 19,1865-Union troops under command of General Jacob D. Cox board boats to run past Fort Anderson on the Cape Fear River at Wilmington, North Carolina. Before they launch, Confederate General Johnson Hagood evacuates his post at Fort Anderson, fleeing eight miles north to Town Creek.

February 20,1865-The Confederate House of Representatives approves the use of African American men as soldiers.

February 20,1865-Having finished the destruction at Columbia, General Sherman begins to move toward Goldsborough, North Carolina.

February 20, 1865-General Cox corners Hagood's Brigade at Town Creek. Three hundred and fifty Confederates are taken as prisoners.

February 20,1865-In Florida, 500 Confederate infantry and cavalry troops besiege Fort Myers housing a Union garrison of 275 Union soldiers. No assault is launched but an artillery dual at long range lasted most of the day. Union Captain James Doyle has four wounded and four missing while Confederate Major William Footman loses about 40 men. This is the southern most battle of the Civil War.

February 21,1865-The Confederate Congress postpones the authorization of the bill to allow freed slaves to become soldiers. Intense debate re-opened a day after the initial vote was completed.

February 21,1865-General Lee alerts Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge that it may become necessary to abandon Richmond and Petersburg so he can move to Burkeville to maintain communication with Confederate forces in the Carolinas. General Lee also mentions the ill health of General Beauregard and asks for Joseph E. Johnston to be returned to active duty.

February 21,1865-Admiral David D. Porter's Squadron rings Fort Strong, North Carolina on the Cape Fear River. Army troops approach the fort while the squadron concentrates fire on the structure.

Civil War - 150 Years ago this week - February 8-14, 1865

February 8,1865-A U.S. House resolution declaring that the eleven states in rebellion will not enjoy representation in the electoral college when the war ends is signed by President Lincoln.

February 8,1865-General Joseph E. Johnston complains to General Sherman that many private homes and properties are being destroyed. General Sherman writes to Johnston that he "doesn't want them destroyed but do not much care to preserve them".

February 8,1865-General Schofield's troops reach Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina following their transfer from Nashville, Tennessee after defeating General Hood.

February 9,1865-General Schofield deploys his XXIII Corps at Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina. He orders his troops, including the Department of North Carolina also under his command, to forage inland, take Wilmington, and strengthen the supply line to the main army, currently entering South Carolina.

February 9,1865-With dwindling troops available in the South, Jefferson Davis enacts a pardon for all Confederate deserters if they return to their units within 30 days. General-in-chief Robert E. Lee suggested this action.

February 10,1865-Captain Raphael Semmes is elevated to rear admiral, C.S.N. for his success as commander of the CSS Alabama. Rear Admiral Semmes is assigned to the James River Squadron, Virginia.

February 10,1865-The Union Army continues to create new departments as most soldiers are in South Carolina or Virginia. General John M. Palmer from Kentucky commands the Department of Kentucky and General George H. Thomas commands the Department of the Cumberland.

February 11,1865-Lieutenant Charles W. Read leads a party of 100 Confederate sailors from Drewry's Bluff, Virginia to City Point, where Grants headquarters are located. They plan to capture several Union vessels, outfit them with spar torpedoes, and sink Union ironclads. Southern control of the James River would severely hinder Union ship movement necessary to supply the men at Petersburg.

February 12,1865-President Lincoln's re-election is confirmed as the Electoral College final vote is 212 to 21.

February 12,1865-Lieutenant Charles Read's naval mission is abandoned due to worsening weather and fear of a Union ambush. The 100 sailors march back to Richmond where every man in the volunteer unit requires medical attention due to exposure.

February 12,1865-Confederate guerrilla captain Jeff Williams of Lewisburg, Arkansas is killed at his home when 100 Union soldiers surround and attack the house.

February 12,1865-As the Union soldiers march through South Carolina, they become more vengeful as they blame South Carolina for starting the Civil War. When they approach Confederate forces commanded by P.T.G. Beauregard, the commanding officer when Fort Sumter was bombarded on April 12,1861, Beauregard moves across the Edisto River and concentrates at Cheraw. In effect, to preserve his army, Beauregard abandons the center of the state.

February 13,1865-When the U.S. Navy adds to the fleet in the Great Lakes after the Confederate raid on St. Albans, Vermont, Lord John Russel informs diplomats in London that the 1817 Rush-Bagot Agreement is being violated. U.S. response is that the St. Albans attack October 18,1864 originated from British Canada so there is no violation.

February 13,1865-The plan for General Jacob D. Cox's division, XXII Corps, to flank and attack Fort Anderson, North Carolina, halts due to heavy rain and poor marching conditions.

February 14,1865- Leaving Orangeburg, South Carolina, General Sherman crosses the Congaree River and advances toward Columbia with both wings of his army. General Beauregard flees and orders General Hardee to escape being encircled and captured.

Civil War 150 Years ago this week - January 11-17,1865

January 11,1865-The Constitutional Convention in Missouri votes to outlaw slavery in that state.

January 11,1865-General Rosser's Confederate Cavalry surprises the Union camp at Beverly, West Virginia and attacks in spite of freezing weather. They overwhelm the 8th and 34th Ohio Cavalry units with little resistance. One hundred horses, 583 men, 600 rifles and 10,000 much needed rations are confiscated.

January 12,1865-Francis P. Blair, an important Maryland politician, meets with Jefferson Davis in Richmond to discuss avenues to peace between the North and South. Blair's scheme would be to mount a joint north/south military expedition into Mexico against the French. President Davis dismisses that route but agrees to send a delegation to Washington to confer with resident Lincoln in February.

January 12,1865-In Washington D.C., Secretary of War Stanton meets with Garland Frazier and 19 other African-American leaders to discuss how to best assimilate freed slaves into the general population. Frazier suggests that blacks farm small plots of land until they can purchase farms and further states "We have confidence in General Sherman, and think that what concerns us could not be in better hands".

January 12,1865-President Davis sends a message to General Richard Taylor urging him to send troops from Tupelo, Mississippi to the Carolina's to reinforce General Hardee in his operations against Sherman's army.

January 13,1865-General Alfred Taylor lands 8,000 troops outside Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina. Four brigades of white troops take up assault positions while one brigade of black soldiers dig strong fortifications across the peninsula.

January 13,1865-Admiral Porter's fleet begins the bombardment of defensive position at Fort Fisher, North Carolina.

January 13,1865-General John Bell Hood resigns from the Army of Tennessee at Tupelo, Mississippi. General P.T.G. Beauregard takes temporary command.

January 14, 1865-Union troops under General Terry disrupt General Braxton Bragg's reinforcing troops from entering Fort Fisher. Ultimately about 350 Confederates get into the fort bringing that garrison to roughly 2,000 men.

January 14,1865-Admiral Porter continues to bombard Fort Fisher. With the entire armada mounting 627 heavy cannon firing at a combined rate of 100 rounds per minute from less that 1000 yards range, they silence Fort Fisher's cannon within hours.

January 15,1865-General Terry leads an all out attack on Fort Fisher while a naval brigade advances on the northeastern salient and army troops approach from the rear, storming entrenchments and parapets. In day long fierce fighting, all three Union brigadier are killed or wounded. Eight hours of hand to hand fighting results in the Confederates being overpowered by 10:00 PM. The last port in the Confederacy is controlled by Union forces.

January 15,1865-General John Schofield's XXIII Corps moves by transport vessels from Clifton, Tennessee to Cincinnati, Ohio, then on to Washington D.C. They are eventually deployed in North Carolina.

January 15,1865-Edward Everett, former congressman from Massachusetts, dies at Boston at the age of 71.

January 16,1865-Francis P. Blair reports to President Lincoln on the recent discussions with Jefferson Davis concerning possible negotiated peace between the North and the South. Lincoln turns down any scheme designed to shift attention to Mexico and the expulsion of France from that country.

January 16,1865-The Confederate Senate passes a resolution advising the president to appoint Robert E. Lee as general-in-chief, return General Joseph Johnston to commander of the Army of Tennessee, and make General Beauregard overall commander of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. This resolution will effectively take military matters out of the presidents hands.

January 16,1865-General Sherman issues Special Field Order #15 to provide for the some 10,000 former slaves and refugees. The order sets aside all abandoned or confiscated land along the coast of Georgia, including coastal islands, for the resettlement of freedmen. The order specifies each family to hold not more than 40 acres with congress to specify "regulation and title" rules at a later date. At the end of the Civil War, Sherman insists that this was met as a temporary measure.

Civil War - 150 Years ago this week - January 4-10, 1865

January 4,1865-The build-up of forces to assault Fort Fisher at Wilmington, North Carolina continues. General Alfred Terry lands 8,000 Federal troops at Bermuda Landing, Virginia. Admiral David D. Porter's strategy to reduce Fort Fisher is to use a brigade of naval infantry and U.S. Marines to storm the front of the fort while the army troops hit the rear.

January 4,1865-At Pond's, Mississippi, General Benjamin Grierson completes his raid against the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. He has recorded 20,000 feet of bridge and roadway destruction plus 20 miles of telegraph wire removed and 14 locomotives, 95 rail cars, and 300 army wagons destroyed.

January 5,1865-To "unofficially" encourage peace negotiations, President Lincoln allows James Singleton to pass through Union lines and enter the Confederacy. Singleton, a Virginia born resident of Illinois was active in the Morman Wars, served as a militia officer in Illinois, an Illinois State Representative, and was active in Canadian/United States discussions throughout the Civil War.

January 6,1865-Representative J.M. Ashley of Ohio renews a drive to approve the 13th Amendment by declaring "If slavery is wrong and criminal, as a great body of Christian men admit, it is certainly our duty to abolish it".

January 6,1865-President Davis claims that a "whispering campaign" against him is undermining Confederate morale. He sends a caustic letter to Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens stating "I assure you that it would be to me a source of the sincerest pleasure to see you devoting your great and animated ability exclusively to upholding the confidence and animating the spirit of the people to unconquerable resistance against their foes."

January 7,1865-General Edward O.C. Ord replaces General Benjamin Butler as commander of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina. By seniority rank in the Union Army, Butler is next in line to succeed Grant in overall command. General Grant is the driving force for this move citing Butler's recent blunders.

January 7,1865-The Union XIX Corps moves more of their soldiers to Savannah from the Shenandoah Valley.

January 7,1865-Admiral David Farragut meets with President Lincoln and Navy Secretary Gideon Wells at the White House.

January 7,1865-French Emperor Napoleon III sells the French built ironclad Sphinx directly to the Confederacy where she is christened CSS Stonewall and is probably the most powerful Confederate vessel during the war.

January 8,1865-Admiral David Porter and Army General Alfred Terry finalize the Fort Fisher assault plans when they meet off shore near Beaufort, North Carolina.

January 8,1865-General John A. Logan resumes command of the Union XV Corps in Tennessee.

January 8,1865-General Thomas Rosser and his 300 Confederate Cavalrymen begin a 75 mile ride from Staunton to Beverly, West Virginia through wind driven snow to raid a well stocked Union encampment. The Confederate cavalrymen are near starvation.

January 9,1865-Secretary of War Stanton is sent to Savannah by President Lincoln. Reports of mistreatment of African-American refuges by General Sherman's men is the topic. This springs from the Ebenezer Creek incident that occurred back on December 9,1864, when Union General Jefferson C. Davis ordered the pontoon bridge removed before all of the ex-slave camp followers were able to cross.

January 9,1865-New York Democratic Representative Moses Odell endorses a constitutional amendment to outlaw slavery by saying "The South by rebellion has absolved the Democratic party at the North from all obligation to stand up longer for the defense of it's cornerstone".

January 10,1865-The Constitutional amendment debate continues and becomes heated. New York Representative Fernando Wood supports a no vote arguing that passage of the amendment will negate any chance for peaceful reconciliation with the South.

January 10,1865-General Rosser's Confederate cavalry reaches Beverly, West Virginia and prepares to storm the Union position at dawn.

Civil War - 150 Years ago this week - December 21-27, 1864

December 21,1864-Union General Benjamin H. Grierson, best known for his cavalry raids at Vicksburg, leaves Memphis to destroy the Mobile and Ohio Railroad in northern Alabama and Mississippi.

December 22,1864-Union General George Stoneman led a cavalry raid to Saltsville in western Virginia and returns to Knoxville. The raid lasted 12 days, covered 460 miles, and his troops capture 900 men and 19 cannon.

December 23,1864-President Lincoln approves the congressional legislation that created the rank of vice admiral. David G. Farragut is the first to hold the rank, equivalent to a lieutenant general.

December 23,1864- Benjamin F. Butler and his 65,000 man expedition finally arrives at Fort Fisher aboard warships under David D. Porter's command. Fort Fisher in Wilmington, North Carolina, is the most formidable coastal fortification in the confederacy. An earth work structure 480 yards long and 60 feet high protects 50 mounted cannon and a 1,500 man garrison under Colonel William Lamb.

December 24,1864-The USS Louisiana, laden with explosives intended to be detonated under the guns of Fort Fisher, prematurely explodes 250 yards away from the objective, with little damage to the fort. The other 60 warships under Admiral Porter's control bombard the fort at a rate of 115 shells per minute, also with little damage.

December 25,1864-General Butler lands 2,200 men 75 yards from Fort Fisher and they move toward the fort, capturing Half Moon Battery as they advance. A strong fire from the 1,500 man garrison and the advance of 500 more men sent by General R.E. Lee checks Butler's advance. Deciding any further assault could be too costly, Butler withdraws and transports his troops to Hampton Roads.

December 25,1864-Butler's hasty retreat results in about 700 Union soldiers remaining trapped on the beach for the next two days.

December 26,1864-General John B. Hood begins to ferry remaining Confederate troops over the Tennessee River at Bainbridge, Tennessee, en-route to Tupelo, Mississippi. This concludes the ill-fated Nashville campaign.

December 27,1864-General Grant learns of General Butler's rebuff at Wilmington and is enraged. The normally docile Grant calls the Fort Fisher attack a complete fiasco and insists that Butler be sacked for "gross and culpable failure". Butler arrives back at Fortress Monroe.

Civil War - 150 Years ago this week - November 23-29, 1864

November 23,1864-As General Hood continues the march toward Columbia, Tennessee, skirmishes break out at Fouche Springs, Henryville, and Mount Pleasant, Tennessee.

November 23,1864-The two wings of General Sherman's army converge on Milledgeville, Georgia where state militia and the Federal's engage in more fighting. Additional fighting takes place at Ball's Ferry and at the Georgia Central railroad bridge over the Oconee River.

November 24,1864-Union General Jacob D. Cox, in charge of General Schofield's lead unit, arrives in Columbia, Tennessee just in time to assist the Federal Cavalry troops against General Forrest's Confederate Cavalry, driving them off.

November 25,1864-Southern arsonists under orders from agents in Canada set fire to ten hotels, two downtown theaters, several other buildings, and P.T. Barnum's Museum in New York City. None of the fires resulted in serious damage as they were quickly extinguished. In February, 1865 Confederate Captain Robert Cobb Kennedy, an escapee from Johnson's Island prison and the only arsonist identified, was arrested for setting the Barnum Museum blaze. He was executed on March 23,1865.

November 26,1864-Sanderson, Georgia is the site of more skirmishing between Confederates and elements of Sherman's army.

November 26,1864-In the Nebraska Territory, fighting between Federal soldiers and local Indians sympathetic to the Confederacy takes place at Plum Creek Station and Spring Creek.

November 27,1864-The siege of Petersburg continues. On the James River, the steamer Greyhound, General Benjamin Butler's floating headquarters, is damaged by a coal torpedo believed to have been planted by southern saboteurs.

November 27,1864-General Schofield moves his forces north of the Duck River some 25 miles south of Franklin, Tennessee and burns bridges behind his move. The Confederates of General Hood are believed to be planning their attack from the south.

November 28,1864-Union General John P. Hatch marches 5,500 men from Hilton Head, South Carolina to transports waiting off shore. Sailing down the Broad River, he intends to land at Boyd's Neck and march overland to cut the Savannah and Charleston Railroad to stop Confederate troops from moving from Charleston to Savannah as General Sherman approaches that city.

November 28,1864-Confederate General Thomas L. Rosser leads his cavalry troops on a raid into Maryland where they destroy a bridge on the B&O Railroad. They then move back up the valley into Virginia.

November 28,1864-General Hood deploys part of his force south of Columbia, Tennessee to give the impression that he will attack from the south. He then shifts the bulk of his army east to cross the Duck River above the town and cut off any Union retreat. General Schofield withdraws his Union force across the Duck River before the trap is sprung. Schofield is alerted by Union Cavalry General James Wilson when General Nathan Forrest's Cavalry surprises Wilson at Spring Hill and drives his cavalry toward Franklin in defeat.

November 29-30,1864-General John P. Hatch with a brigade of infantry, a brigade of sailors, and eight cannon marches from Boyd's Neck, South Carolina toward Grahamville. The predominately black soldiers are from the Massachusetts 54th and 55th plus the 32nd, 34th and 35th U.S. Colored Troops. Mislead by poor maps, the Federals march and counter march aimlessly for several hours at night. When the Confederates arrive, the battle, sometimes called the battle of Honey Hill, is a disaster for the Union with 89 killed, 629 wounded and 29 missing. Light losses were recorded by the Confederates.