February 22nd, 2012: Civil War Portraits
Today we will feature a portrait probably taken in 1861 or 1862 and had one very unusual aspect not found in the vast majority of Civil War images.
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February 21st, 2012: Checking in with P.G.T. Beauregard
Yesterday we discussed Robert E. Lee’s situation as commander of a department in the southeastern Confederacy in February of 1862. Today we will look at what one of his famous colleagues was thinking as he assumed a new command in the western Confederacy. Pierre Beauregard had been a part of the major Confederate success at First Manassas, which had been thus far the South’s only military triumph east of the Mississippi River. Beauregard had made political enemies in Richmond and it was hoped in addition to getting rid of him, a transfer would bolster the Confederate high command in Kentucky and Tennessee where several defeats had just been suffered. 150 years ago today Beauregard laid out an ambitious plan to take back what had been lost to several Confederate governors.
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February 20th, 2012: Checking in with Robert E. Lee
Periodically on Great Task, we check in with possibly the best known Gettysburg general, Robert E. Lee. It is interesting to look at how Lee’s career evolved during the first years of the war, and 150 years ago today he was still commander of the Confederate Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. While he became famous on battlefields in Virginia, in the early part of 1862 Lee’s department was where much of the action was happening. With McClellan and Johnston virtually motionless in Virginia, Lee’s front was being pressed by vastly superior Union naval and land forces. His two main concerns were the important cities of Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, the defense of which he addressed in a letter to fellow general John C. Pemberton 150 years ago today.
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February 19th, 2012: Civil War Portraits
Today's portrait features not only an image, but also a keepsake left for the family which the soldier pictured left behind.
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February 18th, 2012: Civil War Portraits
Today's portrait is of a Confederate soldier whose image can be used to show the Confederate Army which was taking shape as the diversely equipped armies of 1861 settled in for a long war.
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February 17th, 2012: Civil War Views
Today's Civil War view is a depiction of the aftermath of the Battle of Fort Donelson as seen in the pages of
Harper's Weekly shortly after the fight.
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February 16th, 2012: John B. Floyd
150 years ago today the Confederacy suffered a major strategic blow when the stronghold at Fort Donelson surrendered to Ulysses Grant. The surrender not only opened up Tennessee and the Deep South to invasion, it also put a few Confederate officers at the fort in precarious positions. The commanding general at Fort Donelson, John B. Floyd, had barely more than year beforehand been Secretary of War under President James Buchanan. If a successful case for treason was to be made against any former US Government officials, Floyd would have been a good candidate. Knowing this very well, he made special arrangements and, 150 years ago today, slipped away as almost 15,000 of his men were captured.
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February 15th, 2012: Charles F. Smith
After successfully repelling the Union gunboats on February 14
th, the Confederate garrison at Fort Donelson may have had some hope that their position could hold. The Confederate commanders there, however, resolved that it would be better to escape their besieged position and planned an assault which was designed to open an escape route. Initially successful, the assault did open the road to escape the grip of Grant’s army but the federals took back the initiative with a series of counterattacks which nullified the initial Confederate gains. General Charles F. Smith’s Union division held the extreme left flank of the Union line which was untouched during the early Confederate assault. Seizing the initiative Grant ordered Smith to attack on his front and set the stage for the resolution of the Battle of Fort Donelson.
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February 14th, 2012: Jacob Culbertson
150 years ago today the Union flotilla on the Cumberland River commanded by Commodore Foote attempted to repeat its success at Fort Henry the previous week. The Union sailors would be surprised, however, as Fort Donelson was not almost vacant and not under water as Henry had been. When the gunboats came under the muzzles of the Confederate guns the officer commanding the defense, Jacob Culbertson, unleashed a deadly hail of iron which tore into the Union fleet. Before the day was over Culbertson and his men sent the gunboats floating downstream completely crippled and unable to support the rest of Grant’s operations there.
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February 13th, 2012: William Ralls Morrison
After the lopsided victory Union forces achieved at Fort Henry on February 6
th, 1862 the officers and men of Ulysses Grant’s army must have been brimming with confidence. They would have been mistaken, however, if they thought Henry’s sister fort Donelson was to be just as easy to conquer. 150 years ago today Union forces had invested Fort Donelson along the banks of the Cumberland River and tightened their grip on the Confederates there. One Union officer, William Ralls Morrison of the 49
th Illinois Infantry was on the front lines on February 13
th, 1862, and would find himself commanding troops in an attack which was not at all sanctioned by his commanding general.
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February 12th, 2012: Views into the Civil War
Today's view will show what was a common view to thousands of Civil War sailors and sometimes soldiers during the Civil War.
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February 11th, 2012:
Today's post will focus on a much smaller craft which would have been important in the landing of soldiers and sailors in amphibious operations along the coasts and rivers of the Confederacy.
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February 10th, 2012: Views into the Civil War
In keeping with our theme lately of Union offensives moving over water rather than land, this weekend's Civil War Views posts will focus on the Navy.
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February 9th, 2012: Charles P. Stone
History tends to be told in narratives which focus on the eventful highlights that had the greatest impact on its course. There was, of course, always time in between these events where the people living during those times continued in their daily lives. In October we covered the 150
th anniversary of the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, which had political repercussions which far exceeded the immediate military setbacks for the Union. One Union officer was hardest hit by the fallout from Ball’s Bluff and his name was Charles Pomeroy Stone. Stone had no direct impact on the tactical conduct of the battle but since it occurred within the department which he commanded he was easily scapegoated for the defeat and the loss of Senator Edward Baker. Today marks the 150th anniversary of the arrest of Stone by a future Gettysburg general.
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February 8th, 2012: Thomas P. Askew
150 years ago today Union forces under Ambrose Burnside made their assault onto Confederate held Roanoke Island, North Carolina. They possessed overwhelming firepower against the Confederates and the defenders were almost all killed, wounded or captured. One Confederate soldier stationed at Roanoke Island that day was Thomas P. Askew of Madison County, North Carolina. The Battle of Roanoke Island would be the beginning of an odyssey for him which would culminate in a place which all Great Task readers are likely very familiar with.
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February 7th, 2012: Charles Viall
Shifting back to the East Coast from Tennessee we will bring our focus back to another Union offense which occurred in early 1862- Burnside’s North Carolina Expedition. For weeks the expedition had been held up by gales and bad weather, but in early February the winds stopped and the Union ships could bring in the Army troops to the mainland. The first large assault of the campaign would occur on February 8
th, 1862. 150 years ago today reconnaissance was being conducted by the federals in preparation for the action by a company of the 5
th Rhode Island Infantry. One of the soldiers in the group was Charles Viall of Providence, and today we will look at his experience on February 7
th, 1862.
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February 6th, 2012: Lloyd Tilghman
150 years ago along the Tennessee River the Union gained control of the one Confederate strongpoint intended to protect West Tennessee and the Deep South at Fort Henry. Fort Henry, along with its sister fortification Fort Heiman, was meant to secure the Tennessee River so that the Union river fleets could not use it as an avenue for invasion into Mississippi and Alabama. It was a poor location to achieve the desired effect as it was constructed on low swampy ground which ended up flooding after strong rainstorms. In charge of managing the developing Confederate disaster was Lloyd Tilghman, a West point graduate originally from Maryland. Today we will profile Tilghman and discuss the immense challenge he faced in February of 1862 as he and his men were confronted with a vastly superior Union force.
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February 5th, 2012: Views into the Civil War
Today’s sketch was made of a specific event, although we did not cover it in our usual postings. Still, it’s an interesting subject we’d like to discuss, even if we’re a little late. 150 years ago Edwin Stanton was the new Secretary of War in the Lincoln Administration. The ousting of the previous office holder, Simon Cameron, was good or bad news for military officers depending on their political allegiances. After taking the position Stanton was thrown a reception which the military’s top brass attending, and was conveniently documented for us to discuss.
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February 4th, 2012: Views into the Civil War
Yesterday we discussed a small action in the village of Occoquon, Virginia. While searching through the Library of Congress’ collection we came a across a sketch captioned “Bloody fight at Occoquan, Va.” Dated January 29
th, 1862. While a few days off, it’s possible the sketch could have been made of the 3
rd Michigan as they patrolled Prince William County in a snowstorm 150 years ago yesterday.
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February 3rd, 2012: Stephen Gardner Champlin
150 years ago today two companies of the 3
rd Michigan Infantry made a reconnaissance towards the village of Occoquon, Virginia from their base at Fort Lyon outside of Alexandria. While not present himself their regimental commander, Colonel Stephen G. Champlin, reported every detail of their excursion in a report given the next day. Today we will profile Col. Champlin and discuss the small but interesting action which his men fought on February 3
rd, 1862.
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February 2nd, 2012: John Gill Shorter
After having failed to win recognition as a sovereign state in 1861, the Confederate States face the prospect of a long war in early 1862. The Union’s forces were much larger and were beginning to get organized enough to conduct large scale offensive operations that would be difficult to turn back. The Confederacy needed more soldiers, and the nation’s fledgling Congress began taking steps to raise the needed forces. 150 years ago today letter began going out to the governors of the Confederate States making it known that they were expected to organize more troops for the war. One governor who found himself in that position was John Gill Shorter of Alabama.
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February 1st, 2012: George B. Crittenden
As we’ve been discussing in recent posts, the Confederacy was rapidly losing ground west of the Appalachian Mountains. Union victories in Kentucky over the winter had broken the Confederate hold on the southern portion of that state, and now Tennessee was in the federals’ sights. For the Confederate leaders whose commands had been beaten back by the Union repercussions were in the works. George B. Crittenden, who had commanded at the defeat at Mill Springs, was having allegations leveled at him of drunkenness and neglect of duty. He made an effort to continue his career despite the strong lobby against him, but 150 years ago as the weeks passed his stock fell lower and lower.
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January 31st, 2012: Hardy Davis
150 years ago today a 40 year old farmer from Lenoir County, North Carolina enlisted in the military forces of his home state. While miles inland, Lenoir County was uncomfortably close to Palmico Sound, where a Union expeditionary force under Ambrose Burnside was organizing for offensive operations onto the mainland from Hatteras Inlet. Today we’ll look at what we know about Davis, whose regiment would find itself in many tough situations throughout the war.
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January 30th, 2012: Andrew H. Foote
150 years ago today one of the first major successful Union drives into the Confederacy was initiated. On January 30
th, 1862 Major General Henry Halleck gave the go-ahead to Brigadier General Ulysses Grant to move his force of 15,000 men up the Tennessee River to the Confederate stronghold of fort Henry. While the campaign would be the start of Grant’s career which would propel him to the presidency after the war, there was another half of the operation who gets much less recognition: Read Admiral Andrew H. Foote. Foote had started his military career forty years earlier and the campaign he was about to embark on would indeed make his a hero just like Grant, however his memory was never as prominent.
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January 29th, 2012: Civil War Portraits
Today’s portrait will be of a Confederate officer and his family.
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January 28th, 2012: Civil War Portrait
A Union enlisted man will be the focus of today’s Civil War Portraits post.
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January 27th, 2012: Civil War Portraits
Today we’ll feature an outdoor image of a Union cavalryman as a part of our Civil War Portraits series.
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January 26th, 2012: Views into the Civil War
In yesterday's post we profiled Gustavus Adolphus Henry, an influential pro-Confederate Tennessean who 150 years ago was very concerned about Confederate defenses in his state. One important Confederate position was a fort which bore his name- Fort Henry. Positioned on the Tennessee River, Fort Henry was meant to stop Union gunboats from using the water as an avenue for invasion. Sketch artist Alfred Waud was in the vicinity of Fort Henry in the winter of 1862 and made sketches which can provide some insight as to why the fort did not fare very well when attacked that February.
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January 25th, 2012: Gustavus Adolphus Henry
After the Union victories in Kentucky at Mill Springs and Middle Creek, Confederate forces in Tennessee began bracing for a Union offensive. Two key avenues of invasion into Tennessee were the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, which with their river flotilla of gunboats the Union was well positioned to take advantage. Two forts were constructed to protect the river from Union forces; Forts Henry and Donelson along the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, respectively. The namesake of Fort Henry was a prominent Tennessee lawyer named Gustavus Adolphus Henry. While not in the military, Henry was a strong proponent of bolstering Confederate defenses in the heartland as we’ll see in today’s post.
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January 24th, 2012: Robert H. Wyman
In late January of 1861 the front lines in the area around Washington, D.C. had been static for many months. Along the south bank of the Potomac River the Confederates still held territory uncomfortably close to the Union capital. Intelligence regard the Confederate strength in the area was limited, and Union commanders were always evaluating points of attack and possible threats. Being located along a river, the Navy naturally played an important role in any operation which may go on there. 150 years ago today a Navy officer named Robert H. Wyman who commanded a Navy flotilla along the Potomac sent local Army commander Joseph Hooker an assessment for possible offensive operations. Wyman joined the Navy at age 15 and had a wide skill set and proved to be effective in many roles during the Civil War.
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January 23rd, 2012: Henry Van Brunt
150 years ago today a sizeable Union amphibious expedition under the command of Ambrose Burnside was preparing for action near Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. While the expedition would become a bright spot on Burnside’s career, as he very ably commanded it, not everything was in his control. As we’ll see in a log kept by Henry Van Brunt, secretary to Flag-Officer L. M. Goldsborough, mother nature would sometimes prove to be a greater enemy than the Confederate military. Van Brunt was an intelligent Harvard grad who did not have a name for himself while in the Navy, but would go on to be a well-known person in the architectural world.
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January 22nd, 2012: Civil War Portraits
Today an armed Confederate soldier will be the subject of our Civil War Portraits post.
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January 21st, 2012: Civil War Portraits
Today we will feature a pair of Confederate soldiers in our Civil War Portraits series.
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January 20th, 2012: Views into the Civil War
Yesterday we commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky. In the post we featured a newspaper illustration of the fight. While the image attempted to display the carnage of battle, it did so in a way which showed a more glorified version of actual combat. Today we will have another look at that image and compare it to photographs taken later the same year on other battlefields.
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January 19th, 2012: Joseph H. Clay
150 years ago today a battle was fought which would secure eastern Kentucky for the Union until the summer of 1862. The Battle of Mill Springs took place on January 19
th, 1862 and involved over 10,000 participants. Mill Springs would be his last battle for one Confederate soldier named Joseph H. Clay from Grenada, Mississippi. Official records do not detail the end of his service career, but we found out his fate from another very interesting source.
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January 18th, 2012: John Tyler
The Civil war was, of course, a rather divisive event. The loyalties which Americans had with their states created interesting situations for many citizens after the formation of the Confederacy. This was especially true for men who had held high level national office before the war, such as presidents. 150 years ago today John Tyler, the 10
th President of the United States, died. His life spanned the time in which the seeds of the Civil war were planted, grew and finally sprouted into the bloodiest conflict our country has ever known. Tyler, a Virginian by birth, chose loyalty to the Confederacy and was even elected to Confederate Congress. While other former presidents did not necessarily agree with the Lincoln Administration’s conduct of the war, Tyler was unique in his allegiance to the Confederacy.
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January 17th, 2012: Views Into the Civil War
Our Civil War Portraits series captures soldiers, sailors and civilians who visited a photographer to have their images taken. While these photos are fascinating to see the actual people who lived through the Civil War, they were usually all done under very controlled conditions. Especially in the case of soldiers and sailors appearances would have varied quite a bit when they were actually out on campaign fighting the enemy and the elements. Today we’ll feature a sketch which shows a solder set up for cold, rainy conditions.
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January 16th, 2012: Civil War Portraits
Today's portrait is of a bugler in the Union cavalry.
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January 15th, 2012: Civil War Portraits
Today's portrait is certainly of a Confederate officer, however we can't tell exactly what rank he was.
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January 14th, 2012
For our portrait today we will feature a Confederate artilleryman who was possibly an officer.
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January 13th, 2012: Civil War Portraits
Today we will feature a Union army officer with an unusual addition to his uniform.
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January 12th, 2012: William Henry Harness
Here on
Great Task we’ve discussed the more personal war which developed in Missouri and resulted in neighbors fighting amongst each other based on loyalties. In Western Virginia 150 years ago today, the situation was very similar. What would become West Virginia was probably the most divided state during the war. Local militias would arrest citizens suspected of aiding the enemy and sometimes justice was not as well served as it could have been. One person trying subdue pro-Union sentiment by the books in Western Virginia was William Henry Harness, who 150 years ago today sent a message to Richmond urging authorities to follow up on suspected Union men.
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January 11th, 2012: John L. Worden
The Civil War is well known for the innovation and evolution of military technology which it produced. 150 years ago today the ironclad vessels
CSS Virginia and
USS Monitor were both under construction and in a few months would make history when they faced off against each other. The commanders of these vessels were in an interesting situation, considering that they were essentially guinea pigs for a new era of naval warfare. On January 11
th, 1861, a message was sent to a Lieutenant John L. Worden ordering him to take command of the Monitor under construction at Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Worden would accept and start a new phase of his career that would propel him to near celebrity status during the Civil War.
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January 10th, 2012: James A. Garfield
In the decades following the Civil War there was a long line of United States Presidents who had seen service during the conflict. One future president, James A. Garfield, was in command of a Union offensive into Eastern Kentucky 150 years ago today. On January 10
th, 1862, Garfield looked to defeat a Confederate force near Middle Creek, Kentucky under the command of Humphrey Marshall. Garfield had no military experience before the war, and Middle Creek would be his first test as a commander.
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January 9th, 2012: Daniel Read Anthony
150 years ago today the war in Missouri was becoming more and more personal. The state was still divided between pro-Union and pro-secessionist camps, and there were folks on both sides willing to take matters into their own hands. On January 9
th, 1862 a party of Union cavalry ventured on an expedition in response to the request of pro-Union citizens for protection against secessionist guerillas. The commander of the soldiers was Daniel Read Anthony, lieutenant colonel of the 1
st Kansas Cavalry.
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January 8th, 2012: Views into the Civil War
Today we will feature another sketch of the interior of the
USS North Carolina.
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January 7th, 2012: Views into the Civil War
We haven’t discussed the war at sea in quite some time, so this weekend’s ‘views’ posts will concentrate on the Navy.
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January 6th, 2012: Joseph Brennan and Michael Flanahan
150 years ago today a sight was seen in Washington for the first time during the war- a military execution. The man on the gallows was Michael Flanahan who had been convicted of murdering his sergeant, Joseph Brennan over a dispute while on guard duty. Today we’ll look at the events which unfolded on January 6
th, 1862 and share some reactions to both the crime and punishment of Flanahan.
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January 5th, 2012: William A. Forbes
Yesterday we discussed George D. Alexander, a promising officer who was serving under “Stonewall” Jackson during the Bath-Romney Campaign in the winter of 1862. Jackson was fortunate to have many promising officers under his command, and another man who he praised was William A. Forbes of the 14
th Tennessee. Forbes had much in common with Alexander as well as Jackson as we’ll see as we profile Forbes and continue to follow the campaign which unfolded further 150 years ago today.
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January 4th, 2012: George D. Alexander
Yesterday we discussed the opening of hostilities during the Bath-Romney Campaign near the town of Berkeley Spring, West Virginia. 150 years ago today the campaign continues with “Stonewall” Jackson’s Confederates continuing their advance northward towards Hancock, Maryland. On the Virginia side of the Potomac across from Hancock was the vital Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which had a weak point in the form of a bridge over the Cacapon River which ran into the Potomac from the south. Jackson tasked the 3
rd Arkansas Regiment under Albert Rust to burn the bridge, and in the process one of the regiment’s promising officers named George D. Alexander was lost.
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