Monday, 13 March 1865
The Confederate Congress, after much delay and debate, finally sent a measure calling for the enlistment of Negroes in the Army to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who immediately signed it. Davis was authorized to call upon owners to volunteer their slaves and, it was general understood even if it wasn't specifically stated, that any slaves who fought for the Confederacy would be made free by action of the states. The law was too late to be of much value. Davis was authorized to recruit up to 300,000 blacks into the armies. The law did not grant freedom to slaves who served the Confederacy, but it was generally understood that they would be freed after their service.
Davis requested that members of the Confederate Congress stay in special session to enact "...further and more energetic legislation..." for the War effort. Davis accused congressmen of not acting boldly enough to handle the crisis by failing to pass laws facilitating the increase of manpower, supplies, and revenue. This message only alienated many members of Congress.
A skirmish near Beaver Dam Station, Virginia, breaks out with Major General Philip H. Sheridan's Cavalry force on their way to join up with the Union forces under Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant on the siege lines of Petersburg, Virginia.
Commander Alexander Colden Rhind, Senior Naval Officer at New Bern, reported to Commander William Henry Alexander Macomb, commanding in the North Carolina sounds, that the expedition up the Neuse River had returned the previous evening. "A deserter from a North Carolina regiment came on board the [Army steamer] Ella May yesterday morning. He states that the whole Rebel force under Bragg (estimated by him at 40,000) had evacuated Kinston, moving toward Goldsboro, but that Hoke's division returned when he left. The ironclad [ Neuse ] is afloat and ready for service; has two guns, draws 9 feet. No pontoon was found in the Neuse. If you can send me a torpedo launch at once he may have an opportunity of destroying the ironclad. The bridge (railroad) at Kinston has been destroyed by the enemy. "
neral Johnston, recalled to duty, had been sent to North Carolina to oppose General Sherman. Troops withdrawn from Kinston were part of his consolidation of divided armies seeking to gain a force of respectable size to fight effectively against Sherman's large army. The withdrawal, however, left a vacuum which the Federals promptly filled. They occupied Kinston on the 14th; meanwhile the Confederates had destroyed the ram Neuse to prevent her capture.
Lieutenant Commander Edward Hooker led a naval expedition, consisting of the USS Commodore Read, Morse, Delaware, and Army gunboat Mosswood, up the Rappahannock River to assist an Army detachment engaged in mopping-up operations on the peninsula formed by the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers. At Rappahannock, a landing party from Delaware, Acting Master Joshua H. Eldridge, destroyed eight boats including a large flatboat used as a ferry. The bridge connecting Rappahannock with evacuated Fort Lowry was then destroyed by the well directed gunfire from Delaware and Morse, Acting Master George NV. Hyde. During these operations the squadron exchanged fire for two hours with two rifled field pieces concealed in a wooded area. The vessels also opened on Confederate cavalry units in the vicinity and, Hooker reported, "...emptied some of their saddles."
Major A. M. Jackson (10th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery) passes on a spy's report on a Confederate submarine at Houston, Texas and four other such vessels at Shreveport, Louisiana. The description of the boats is almost identical to Hunley, and the ships were probably built by members of the Singer Submarine Corps who had been ordered to the West the year before.
George Washington Getty, U.S.A., is appointed Major General.
James Brewerton Ricketts, U.S.A., is appointed Major General.
Wager Swayne, U.S.A., is appointed Brigadier General.
An affair occurs 1 mile from Dalton, Georgia, as the attacking Confederates capture 5 railroad hands on the Cleveland road. The Yankees pursue and kill 2 of the Rebels, and capture 1.
Colonel John Morrill, with the 64th Illinois Infantry, is assigned to the command of the District of Rolla, Missouri.
The Confederate Congress, after much delay and debate, finally sent a measure calling for the enlistment of Negroes in the Army to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who immediately signed it. Davis was authorized to call upon owners to volunteer their slaves and, it was general understood even if it wasn't specifically stated, that any slaves who fought for the Confederacy would be made free by action of the states. The law was too late to be of much value. Davis was authorized to recruit up to 300,000 blacks into the armies. The law did not grant freedom to slaves who served the Confederacy, but it was generally understood that they would be freed after their service.
Davis requested that members of the Confederate Congress stay in special session to enact "...further and more energetic legislation..." for the War effort. Davis accused congressmen of not acting boldly enough to handle the crisis by failing to pass laws facilitating the increase of manpower, supplies, and revenue. This message only alienated many members of Congress.
A skirmish near Beaver Dam Station, Virginia, breaks out with Major General Philip H. Sheridan's Cavalry force on their way to join up with the Union forces under Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant on the siege lines of Petersburg, Virginia.
Commander Alexander Colden Rhind, Senior Naval Officer at New Bern, reported to Commander William Henry Alexander Macomb, commanding in the North Carolina sounds, that the expedition up the Neuse River had returned the previous evening. "A deserter from a North Carolina regiment came on board the [Army steamer] Ella May yesterday morning. He states that the whole Rebel force under Bragg (estimated by him at 40,000) had evacuated Kinston, moving toward Goldsboro, but that Hoke's division returned when he left. The ironclad [ Neuse ] is afloat and ready for service; has two guns, draws 9 feet. No pontoon was found in the Neuse. If you can send me a torpedo launch at once he may have an opportunity of destroying the ironclad. The bridge (railroad) at Kinston has been destroyed by the enemy. "
neral Johnston, recalled to duty, had been sent to North Carolina to oppose General Sherman. Troops withdrawn from Kinston were part of his consolidation of divided armies seeking to gain a force of respectable size to fight effectively against Sherman's large army. The withdrawal, however, left a vacuum which the Federals promptly filled. They occupied Kinston on the 14th; meanwhile the Confederates had destroyed the ram Neuse to prevent her capture.
Lieutenant Commander Edward Hooker led a naval expedition, consisting of the USS Commodore Read, Morse, Delaware, and Army gunboat Mosswood, up the Rappahannock River to assist an Army detachment engaged in mopping-up operations on the peninsula formed by the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers. At Rappahannock, a landing party from Delaware, Acting Master Joshua H. Eldridge, destroyed eight boats including a large flatboat used as a ferry. The bridge connecting Rappahannock with evacuated Fort Lowry was then destroyed by the well directed gunfire from Delaware and Morse, Acting Master George NV. Hyde. During these operations the squadron exchanged fire for two hours with two rifled field pieces concealed in a wooded area. The vessels also opened on Confederate cavalry units in the vicinity and, Hooker reported, "...emptied some of their saddles."
Major A. M. Jackson (10th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery) passes on a spy's report on a Confederate submarine at Houston, Texas and four other such vessels at Shreveport, Louisiana. The description of the boats is almost identical to Hunley, and the ships were probably built by members of the Singer Submarine Corps who had been ordered to the West the year before.
George Washington Getty, U.S.A., is appointed Major General.
James Brewerton Ricketts, U.S.A., is appointed Major General.
Wager Swayne, U.S.A., is appointed Brigadier General.
An affair occurs 1 mile from Dalton, Georgia, as the attacking Confederates capture 5 railroad hands on the Cleveland road. The Yankees pursue and kill 2 of the Rebels, and capture 1.
Colonel John Morrill, with the 64th Illinois Infantry, is assigned to the command of the District of Rolla, Missouri.
