Category Archives: Military

June 17, 1863: Sherman’s response to McClernand

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Allen Gathman

Sherman notes that McClernand’s self-congratulatory order was inaccurate in many ways, and accuses McClernand of making a false claim to have taken several forts at Vicksburg, leading Sherman to send troops needlessly to their deaths. Official Records: HEADQUARTERS Fifteenth ARMY … Continue reading →

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June 17, 1863: Going after Whistling Dick

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Allen Gathman

One of the cannons in the river-side defenses of Vicksburg, because of some peculiarity of the rifling of its barrel, threw shells that whistled in flight. While it’s not clear that this cannon was any more effective than others, its … Continue reading →

Posted in David Porter, Gunboats, Whistling Dick | Leave a comment

June 16, 1863: Sherman will defend Snyder’s Bluff

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Allen Gathman

Click for large map. Grant, having found that Johnston is not at Mechanicsburg, ordered Sherman to secure the defenses of Vicksburg against an attack from the northeast. Sherman reports his efforts, concluding characteristically, “I will do anything and everything in … Continue reading →

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June 15, 1863: Segregating the troops

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Allen Gathman

As an afterthought in a dispatch, Grant outlines a policy of segregation for black and white troops. But if “the movements of the enemy require a concentration of your forces, bring them together without regard to color.” Official Records: NEAR … Continue reading →

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June 14, 1863: Lack of proper support

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Allen Gathman

Brg.Gen. Thomas E.G. Ransom The New York Times ran an item describing one of many charges in the unsuccessful assault on Vicksburg. The timing is an interesting coincidence. McClernand had just acknowledged to Grant that he wrote (and leaked, no … Continue reading →

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June 13, 1863: McClernand’s Order #72 gets him in hot water

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Allen Gathman

About this time, the Northern papers started reaching the Vicksburg lines with reports of McClernand’s “General Order #72″. This was not, in fact, an order, but a congratulatory (largely *self*congratulatory) address to his 13th Army Corps as they settled into … Continue reading →

Posted in James B. McPherson, John A. McClernand, Mississippi, Ulysses S. Grant, Vicksburg, William Tecumseh Sherman | Leave a comment

June 12, 1863: Vicksburg never surrenders.

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Allen Gathman

More Vicksburg news,rumors, and lies in the Richmond Daily Dispatch. Grant’s losses “tremendous”. From Vicksburg and Port Houses. Progress of the siege — heavy firing at both places — gunboats Jackson, June10. –Memphis papers, of the 6th, say that Grant … Continue reading →

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June 11, 1863: Sherman to hold Haynes’ Bluff

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Allen Gathman

Official Records: Major General WILLIAM T. SHERMAN, Comdg. Fifteenth Army Corps: Washburn, who is in command at Haynes’ Bluff, reports that a DIVISION of rebel cavalry is encamped 2 miles beyond Mechanicsburg, and [W. H. T.] Walker, with an infantry … Continue reading →

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June 10, 1863: Grant asks Porter for a gunboat

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Allen Gathman

Grant appeals to Porter for a gunboat to protect the movement of troops to reinforce him. Note the respectful and collegial tone of his message. Official Records NEAR Vicksburg, MISS., June 10, 1863. Rear-Admiral DAVID D. PORTER, Commanding Mississippi Squadron: … Continue reading →

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June 9, 1863: Yankees at Vicksburg are doomed!

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Allen Gathman

The Richmond Daily Dispatch carries on in its role as propaganda arm of the Confederacy. From Vicksburg. Jackson, Miss., June9. –Our scouts report the enemy’s pickets ten miles deep, every means of approach closely guarded, and that the greatest courage … Continue reading →

Posted in Mississippi, Ulysses S. Grant, Vicksburg | Leave a comment