Wednesday, 12 April 1865
The Union forces, under Major General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby occupy Mobile, Alabama, effectively putting an end to the Mobile Campaign.
Skirmishing occurs on the Columbus Road, near Montgomery, Alabama, as the Union forces, under Brigadier General James H. Wilson finally occupy Montgomery, the original Confederate capital.
Federals scout from the Tallahassee Mission, in the Indian Territory, toward the direction of Concharty, with a long range, running skirmish with outlaws.
A Union expedition travels from Port Hudson to Jackson, Louisiana, with the reported Federal capture of various Confederate officers and men.
Federal soldiers scout against Indians, from Dakota City, in the Nebraska Territory, to Elk Creek, the West Fork of Badger Creek, westerly toward the South Fork of the Elk Creek, thence up to the Chalk Branch, finding and capturing some Omaha Indians, probably from the Omaha Indian Reserve.
Federal troops scout from Fort Stanton, in the New Mexico Territory, pursuing four Indians who stole a few head of cattle from a ranch on the Carrizo and Ruidoso Creeks. The Yankees pursue; the Indians split up; the Federals track one lone Indian for days on end, through canons, brush, mountains, etc. He is able to evade them until the Yankees finally give up and return to their Fort.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis confers with General Joseph E. Johnston at Greensboro, North Carolina, and permits Johnston, now being outnumbered over 3 to 1, to meet with Major General William T. Sherman to discuss the issue of surrender. Johnston had told Davis: "Our people are tired of the war, feel themselves whipped, and will not fight. Our country is overrun, its military resources greatly diminished, while the enemy's military power and resources were never greater and may be increased to any extent desired...My small force is melting away like snow before the sun."
Actions take place at Swift Creek, North Carolina, with General Joseph E. Johnston's and Major General William T. Sherman's forces.
Further actions commence and skirmishing breaks out near Raleigh, North Carolina, with Major General William T. Sherman's and General Joseph E. Johnston's troops, as the Union forces under Sherman eventually occupy Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina.
After a skirmish at Grant's Creek, and an engagement at Salisbury, North Carolina, the Union forces, under Major General George Stoneman occupy Salisbury, capturing over 1,300 Confederate prisoners.
Union Major General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain receives the official surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia by Confederate Major General John Brown Gordon at Appomattox Court House, also known as Clover Hill. In "Passing of the Armies", Chamberlain writes: "The momentous meaning of this occasion impressed me deeply. I resolved to mark it by some token of recognition, which could be no other than a salute of arms. Well aware of the responsibility assumed, and of the criticisms that would follow, as the sequel proved, nothing of that kind could move me in the least. The act could be defended, if needful, by the suggestion that such a salute was not to the cause for which the flag of the Confederacy stood, but to its going down before the flag of the Union. My main reason, however, was one for which I sought no authority nor asked forgiveness. Before us in proud humiliation stood the embodiment of manhood: men whom neither toils and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing before us now, thin, worn, and famished, but erect, and with eyes looking level into ours, waking memories that bound us together as no other bond. Was not such manhood to be welcomed back into a Union so tested and assured? Instructions had been given; and when the head of each division column comes opposite our group, our bugle sounds the signal and instantly our whole line from right to left, regiment by regiment in succession, gives the soldier's salutation, from the 'order arms' to the old 'carry'-the marching salute. Gordon at the head of the column, riding with heavy spirit and downcast face, catches the sound of shifting arms, looks up, and, taking the meaning, wheels superbly, making with himself and his horse one uplifted figure, with profound salutation as he drops the point of his sword to the boot toe; then facing to his own command, gives word for his successive brigades to pass us with the same position of the manual,-honor answering honor. On our part not a sound of trumpet more, nor roll of drum; not a cheer, nor word nor whisper of vain-glorying, nor motion of man standing again at the order, but an awed stillness rather, and breath-holding, as if it were the passing of the dead."
At the request of Major General John McAllister Schofield, Acting Master Henry Walton Grinnell, leading a detachment of four sailors, succeeded in delivering important Army dispatches to General Sherman near Fayetteville. Grinnell and his men began their trip on the 4th in a dugout from Wilmington. About 12 miles up the Cape Fear River, after passing through the Confederate pickets undetected, the men left the boat and commenced a tedious and difficult march towards Fayetteville. Near Whiteville, Grinnell impressed horses and led a daring dash through the Confederate lines. Shortly thereafter, the group made contact with the rear scouts of Sherman's forces, successfully completing what Grinnell termed "...this rather novel naval scout." Naval support, no matter what form it took, was essential to General Sherman's movements. Grinnell would later serve in the Spanish-American War and became a rear admiral and Inspector-General in the Imperial Japanese Navy, where he served at the battle of the Yalu River in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95. He was discharged as an admiral at the end of the war.
The USS Althea, Acting Ensign Frederic A. G. Bacon in charge, is sunk by a torpedo in the Blakely River, Alabama. The small 72-ton tug had performed duties as a coaling and supply vessel since joining the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in August 1864. She was returning from an unsuccessful attempt to drag the river's channel when she "r...an afoul of a torpedo". The Althea went down "immediately" in 10 to 12 feet of water. Two crewmen were killed and three, including Bacon, were injured. Althea had the dubious distinction of being the first of seven vessels to be sunk by torpedoes near Mobile in a five week period. The Confederate weapons took an increasing toll of Union ships as they swept for mines and pressed home the attack in shallow waters. Althea was later raised and recommissioned in November 1865.
The USS Quaker City, under Commander William F. Spicer, captures the blockade running British schooner R.H. Vermilyea in the Gulf of Mexico with a cargo of coffee, clothes, rum, tobacco, and shoes.
The Union forces, under Major General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby occupy Mobile, Alabama, effectively putting an end to the Mobile Campaign.
Skirmishing occurs on the Columbus Road, near Montgomery, Alabama, as the Union forces, under Brigadier General James H. Wilson finally occupy Montgomery, the original Confederate capital.
Federals scout from the Tallahassee Mission, in the Indian Territory, toward the direction of Concharty, with a long range, running skirmish with outlaws.
A Union expedition travels from Port Hudson to Jackson, Louisiana, with the reported Federal capture of various Confederate officers and men.
Federal soldiers scout against Indians, from Dakota City, in the Nebraska Territory, to Elk Creek, the West Fork of Badger Creek, westerly toward the South Fork of the Elk Creek, thence up to the Chalk Branch, finding and capturing some Omaha Indians, probably from the Omaha Indian Reserve.
Federal troops scout from Fort Stanton, in the New Mexico Territory, pursuing four Indians who stole a few head of cattle from a ranch on the Carrizo and Ruidoso Creeks. The Yankees pursue; the Indians split up; the Federals track one lone Indian for days on end, through canons, brush, mountains, etc. He is able to evade them until the Yankees finally give up and return to their Fort.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis confers with General Joseph E. Johnston at Greensboro, North Carolina, and permits Johnston, now being outnumbered over 3 to 1, to meet with Major General William T. Sherman to discuss the issue of surrender. Johnston had told Davis: "Our people are tired of the war, feel themselves whipped, and will not fight. Our country is overrun, its military resources greatly diminished, while the enemy's military power and resources were never greater and may be increased to any extent desired...My small force is melting away like snow before the sun."
Actions take place at Swift Creek, North Carolina, with General Joseph E. Johnston's and Major General William T. Sherman's forces.
Further actions commence and skirmishing breaks out near Raleigh, North Carolina, with Major General William T. Sherman's and General Joseph E. Johnston's troops, as the Union forces under Sherman eventually occupy Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina.
After a skirmish at Grant's Creek, and an engagement at Salisbury, North Carolina, the Union forces, under Major General George Stoneman occupy Salisbury, capturing over 1,300 Confederate prisoners.
Union Major General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain receives the official surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia by Confederate Major General John Brown Gordon at Appomattox Court House, also known as Clover Hill. In "Passing of the Armies", Chamberlain writes: "The momentous meaning of this occasion impressed me deeply. I resolved to mark it by some token of recognition, which could be no other than a salute of arms. Well aware of the responsibility assumed, and of the criticisms that would follow, as the sequel proved, nothing of that kind could move me in the least. The act could be defended, if needful, by the suggestion that such a salute was not to the cause for which the flag of the Confederacy stood, but to its going down before the flag of the Union. My main reason, however, was one for which I sought no authority nor asked forgiveness. Before us in proud humiliation stood the embodiment of manhood: men whom neither toils and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing before us now, thin, worn, and famished, but erect, and with eyes looking level into ours, waking memories that bound us together as no other bond. Was not such manhood to be welcomed back into a Union so tested and assured? Instructions had been given; and when the head of each division column comes opposite our group, our bugle sounds the signal and instantly our whole line from right to left, regiment by regiment in succession, gives the soldier's salutation, from the 'order arms' to the old 'carry'-the marching salute. Gordon at the head of the column, riding with heavy spirit and downcast face, catches the sound of shifting arms, looks up, and, taking the meaning, wheels superbly, making with himself and his horse one uplifted figure, with profound salutation as he drops the point of his sword to the boot toe; then facing to his own command, gives word for his successive brigades to pass us with the same position of the manual,-honor answering honor. On our part not a sound of trumpet more, nor roll of drum; not a cheer, nor word nor whisper of vain-glorying, nor motion of man standing again at the order, but an awed stillness rather, and breath-holding, as if it were the passing of the dead."
At the request of Major General John McAllister Schofield, Acting Master Henry Walton Grinnell, leading a detachment of four sailors, succeeded in delivering important Army dispatches to General Sherman near Fayetteville. Grinnell and his men began their trip on the 4th in a dugout from Wilmington. About 12 miles up the Cape Fear River, after passing through the Confederate pickets undetected, the men left the boat and commenced a tedious and difficult march towards Fayetteville. Near Whiteville, Grinnell impressed horses and led a daring dash through the Confederate lines. Shortly thereafter, the group made contact with the rear scouts of Sherman's forces, successfully completing what Grinnell termed "...this rather novel naval scout." Naval support, no matter what form it took, was essential to General Sherman's movements. Grinnell would later serve in the Spanish-American War and became a rear admiral and Inspector-General in the Imperial Japanese Navy, where he served at the battle of the Yalu River in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95. He was discharged as an admiral at the end of the war.
The USS Althea, Acting Ensign Frederic A. G. Bacon in charge, is sunk by a torpedo in the Blakely River, Alabama. The small 72-ton tug had performed duties as a coaling and supply vessel since joining the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in August 1864. She was returning from an unsuccessful attempt to drag the river's channel when she "r...an afoul of a torpedo". The Althea went down "immediately" in 10 to 12 feet of water. Two crewmen were killed and three, including Bacon, were injured. Althea had the dubious distinction of being the first of seven vessels to be sunk by torpedoes near Mobile in a five week period. The Confederate weapons took an increasing toll of Union ships as they swept for mines and pressed home the attack in shallow waters. Althea was later raised and recommissioned in November 1865.
The USS Quaker City, under Commander William F. Spicer, captures the blockade running British schooner R.H. Vermilyea in the Gulf of Mexico with a cargo of coffee, clothes, rum, tobacco, and shoes.