SELECTED CONFEDERATE OBSERVANCE DAYS FOR SCV CAMPS & HISTORIANS
… Remember, it is your duty to see that the true history of the South is presented to future generations."
- Lt. General Stephen Dill Lee, Commander General, United Confederate Veterans, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1906
January - Confederate Heroes Day & Birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson
January 1, 1863 - Battle of Galveston, Texas. Major General John B. Magruder
recaptures the port and city of Galveston from Federal occupation. The
Federal’s fleet vessels USS Harriet Lane and Westfield were destroyed or
captured, along with 400 Federals taken prisoner. Galveston remained in
Confederate control for the balance of the war.
January 8, 1821 – General James Longstreet's birthday.
January 11, 1863 – CSS Alabama sinks gunboat USS Hatteras off Galveston,
Texas.
January 19 – State of Texas Confederate Heroes Day (holiday since 1931)
January 19, 1807 – Robert E Lee’s birthday (observed in many states on the 3rd
Monday in January)
January 21, 1804 – General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s birthday
January 31, 1865 – The Federal Senate passed the 13th Amendment abolishing
slavery in April 1864 but the House did not pass it. Lincoln dictated that it be
passed, so 10 months later and after much debate - on January 31, 1865 it was
finally passed by a vote of 119 to 56.
February – Birthday of Brig Gen. John Creed Moore & Election of President Jefferson Davis
Feb. 1, 1861 - Texas Secedes from the Union.
Feb. 6, 1833 – Major General J.E.B. (James Ewell Brown) Stuart’s birthday.
Feb. 9, 1861 – Provisional Confederate Congress selects Jefferson Davis as
President of the Confederate States of America. President Davis sends a Peace
Commission to Washington, D.C. but Lincoln, preferring warfare, refused to see
the Ambassadors.
Feb. 15, 1869 – After 4 years of captivity, the Federal government drops all
charges against President Jefferson Davis
Feb. 17, 1864 – CSS Hunley submarine sinks Federal warship USS Housatonic.
This marks the 1st submarine in history to sink an enemy vessel in combat.
Feb. 17, 1865 – After remnants of the Confederate Army are driven out and the
city surrendered, Sherman’s Federals get drunk, and loot and burn most of
Columbia, South Carolina to the ground.
Feb. 28, 1824 – Brig. Gen. John Creed Moore birthday
March - Adoption of the Confederate Constitution
March 5, 1862 – General P.G.T. Beauregard (Pierre Gustave Toutant) takes
command of the Army of the Mississippi (also known as Army of the West)
March 8, 1862 – Ironclad CSS Virginia rams and sinks Federal ship USS
Cumberland and then forces the surrender of the USS Congress
March 9, 1863 – Col. John S. Mosby captures Federal Brig. Gen. Edwin Stoughton
(and also captures 32 other Federal soldiers and 58 horses). Stoughton was held
in Richmond's Libby Prison from March until May, when he was exchanged.
March 11, 1861 – Confederate Constitution adopted unanimously by Convention
in Montgomery, Alabama
March 30, 1870 – after 5 years of Federal occupation, dictatorship, and martial law, Texas is
absorbed back into the “Union”.
April - Confederate music:
“Dixie” (1859), “The Bonnie Blue Flag” (1861), “All Quiet Along the Potomac” (1861), etc.
April 4, 1859 – “Dixie” performed for the first time in public
April 13, 1861 – Federal Fort Sumter, South Carolina surrenders after Confederate
artillery bombardment . There were no casualties. Lincoln called for 75,000
volunteers to invade and conqueror the South
April 14, 1865 – Dictator Lincoln assassinated
April 22, 1861 – Robert E. Lee confirmed as Commander of Virginia forces
April 22, 1861 – Louisiana Governor Thomas Overton Moore accepted into the
state militia a regiment of approximately 1,500 free blacks who pledged their
loyalty to the Confederate cause and who signed a militia muster roll. The
Louisiana state legislature rejected their efforts and the 1st Louisiana Native
Guard was disbanded.
May – Anniversary of the last battle of Lincoln's invasion, conquest, and
subjugation of the Confederate States of America
May 2 - May 4, 1863 – Battle of Chancellorsville. Federal General Hooker’s Army
of the Potomac (about 130,000 soldiers) is soundly defeated by Robert E. Lee’s
Army of Northern Virginia (with less than 60,000 soldiers) as it attempts to
invade Richmond.
May 10, 1863 – Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jackson dies after being shot by friendly fire
May 11, 1864 - Battle of Yellow Tavern, Virginia. Maj. Gen. JEB Stuart killed.
May 12 - 13, 1865 – Last battle of the war fought , Battle of Palmito Ranch, Texas.
It was a Confederate victory.
May 18, 1863 - Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi begins. The Confederates under
Lt. Gen. John Pemberton held out until July 3rd, when they attempted to
surrender. In a supreme act of arrogance, the Federals under Maj. Gen. U.S.
Grant refused to accept the surrender until the July 4th holiday.
May 25, 1863 – U.S. Ohio Congressman Vallindgham arrested by Federal soldiers
and ordered by Lincoln to be exiled to the Confederacy because he and other
Northerners were opposed the war .
May 26, 1865 – Surrender of Army of the Trans Mississippi by Gen. Kirby Smith
in Galveston, Texas. This was the last major army left in the Confederacy.
June – President Davis birthday
June 3, 1808 - Jefferson Davis birthday.
June 7, 1862 – Federal General “Beast” Butler “tried” civilian William Mumford
before a military tribunal under martial “law”. As an example for others, he was
hanged in a courtyard for tearing down a Federal flag in New Orleans.
June 9, 2000 – In the middle of the night, George W. Bush orders two Confederate
memorial plaques torn down from the Texas Supreme Court building. They
were sponsored by the Children of the Confederacy.
June 23, 1865 - Brigadier General Stand Watie is the last Confederate Commander
to surrender - near Doaksville, Indian Territory.
July – Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg...
Each year we remember that July 4th, 1776 stood for freedom and independence. But July 4th is also the day that Vicksburg, Mississippi fell to U.S. Grant (July 4th was not celebrated as a holiday in Vicksburg for 81 years.). Most Americans are unaware that the Federal Republic created in 1789 replaced the 1st Confederacy (1776-1788) and what was created in 1789 was laid to rest at Appomattox Courthouse in 1865. States Rights were limited through acts of violence, bloodshed and subjugation, and were dealt a death blow. In truth, we are celebrating a Federal Republic that is moving closer to a People’s Republic (like China, Russia, or Cuba) than the Republic created in 1789.
July 1, 1896 – Sons of Confederate Veterans founded
July 1-3, 1863 – Battle of Gettysburg. The Texas Brigade consisted of 3 Texas and
1 Arkansas infantry regiments assigned to John Bell Hood’s Division with the
Brigade commanded by Brig. Gen. Jerome Robertson until he was wounded on
July 2nd. The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war.
An estimated 51,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, captured, or listed as
missing. Maj. Gen. George Meade defeated attacks by Gen. Robert E. Lee’s
Army of Northern Virginia and halted Lee’s counter invasion of the North.
July 9, 1864 - Battle of Monocacy, Maryland. Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's
troops advanced on Washington, D.C. but were unsuccessful and forced to
retreat.
July 12, 1861 - Chickasaw Nation joins the Confederacy
July 13, 1821 – Nathan Bedford Forrest’s birthday
July 15, 1870 – Georgia last state absorbed back into the “Union”
August – Battle of Second Manassas (Yankee Bull Run)
August 12-18, 1862 - Battle of Corpus Christi, Texas. 5 Federal Navy ships
defeated 4 Confederate Navy ships but the Federals were defeated when they
landed on the coast and attempted to invade Texas.
August 17, 1862 – J.E.B. Stuart assumes command of the cavalry of the Army of
Northern Virginia.
August 22, 1862 – Lincoln’s letter stating the cause of the war: “…My paramount
object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to
destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would
do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I
could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that…”
August 29-30, 1862 – Battle of Second Manassas, Virginia. An estimated 77,000
Federals under Maj. Gen. John Pope were soundly defeated by 50,000
Confederates under Robert E. Lee.
September – Battle of Sabine Pass Texas and Harper’s Ferry Battle
September 2, 1864 – After Confederate troops leave, Atlanta, Georgia is
surrendered to Federal forces. A few days later Federal Gen. W.T. Sherman
orders the evacuation of the city. This began Sherman’s march to the sea with a
scorched earth policy of burning, looting, and killing all livestock in their path.
Private houses were burned to the ground and several towns in Georgia were
wiped off the map and never rebuilt.
September 8, 1863- a Federal Navy flotilla of some 22 gunboats and transports
with 5,000 Federal soldiers accompanied by cavalry and artillery attempted to
invade Texas through Sabine Pass. Confederate Lieut. Dick Dowling and 47
Davis Guard Confederates used Artillery to obliterate the invasion of Texas
attempt and resulted in capturing 2 gunboats, some 350 prisoners, and a large
quantity of supplies and munitions.
September 10, 1861 – President Jefferson Davis appoints Albert Sydney Johnston
in command of the Confederate West
September 10, 1894 – The United Daughters of the Confederacy is founded at
Nashville, Tenn.
September 15, 1862 – Stonewall Jackson takes 12,500 prisoners at Harper’s Ferry,
Virginia. It was the largest mass surrender in Federal Army history until World
War II.
October - Writ of Habeas Corpus
October 1, 1864 – John Summerfield Staples is paid 500.00 as a substitute for
Lincoln’s military service.
October 14, 1861 – Despite his Oath of Office, by Executive Order Lincoln
suspends habeas corpus, allowing the Federal government to arrest citizens for
months or years without charging them with a crime. Secretary of State William
Seward brags about simply ringing a bell on his desk to have “undesirables”
removed without a trace: “My Lord, I can touch a bell on my right hand, and
order the arrest of a citizen in Ohio. I can touch the bell again, and order the
arrest of a citizen in New York. Can the Queen of England, in her dominions,
do as much?” Roger Taney, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, ruled that
Lincoln did not have this authority but Lincoln simply ignored him and then
proceeded to imprison one third of the members of the Maryland General
assembly without charges or trial. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people were
eventually arrested without a prompt trial.
October12, 1870 - Gen Robert E. Lee, President of Washington College died. He
is buried in Lexington, VA. The college was later renamed Washington and
Lee University.
October 24, 1861 – West Virginia secedes from Virginia, without being invaded
for seceding.
November - Good month to correct false history of Lincoln's legacy.
November 6, 1860 – Abraham Lincoln receives 39.7% of the vote for President,
and even though 60.3% of voters did not vote for him, he is declared the
winner, defeating Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge, and John Bell.
November 25, 1863 – Battle of Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Three
Federal armies attacked the Confederate Army of the Tennessee. Although
outnumbered 10 to 1, Confederate Patrick Cleburne stopped William Tecumseh
Sherman in his tracks. Confederate General Bragg did not do as well and was
forced to retreat to Dalton, Georgia. Federal troops under Sheridan were stopped
by Confederate Lt. Gen, William Hardee’s rear guard action.
December - Battle of Fredericksburg
December, 1860 – South Carolina is the first state to secede from the “Union”
December, 1863 – Confederate General Patrick R. Cleburne wrote a memorandum
advocating the emancipation and enlistment of black men as Confederate
soldiers.
December 6, 1889 - President Jefferson Davis died. President Davis was initially
buried in New Orleans Louisiana. In 1893, he was re-interred in Richmond,
Virginia.
December 11, 1862 – Federal Gen. U.S. Grant issues Special Order 11, expelling
all Jews from his district. (Grant also believed in slavery and was a slave
owner.)
December 13, 1862 - Battle of Fredericksburg. Gen. Ambrose Burnside and the
Federal Army of the Potomac with an estimated 122,000 soldiers is soundly
beaten by Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia with 78,000 soldiers.
Federal Occupation After The War Between The States (the so-called “Reconstruction” period)
The South was divided into five military districts which were then governed by military dictators. All social, economic, and political activity in the Southern states was controlled by the federal military and all Governors and Legislators were removed from office.
One of the requirements for “readmission” to the Union was that new “acceptable” state constitutions had to be approved by the Northern U.S. Congress. All males, regardless of race, but excluding former Confederates, were permitted to participate in the constitutional conventions that formed the new governments in each state.
Federal troops continued to occupy Southern states until 1877 when a Congressional bargain was struck to elect Republican Rutherford Hayes as President. Federal troops were then withdrawn from the last three states (South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida) in the South and, after 12 years, the occupation was finally ended. States Rights were also effectively ended.
The First Military District contained only Virginia and lasted for 3 years. The district was ruled by Brigadier General John Schofield (1867-1868), Colonel George Stoneman (1868-1869), and Brigadier General Edward Canby (1869-1870).
The Second Military District contained North and South Carolina and was ruled by Major General Daniel Sickles (August 26, 1867) and then by Brigadier General Edward Canby (August 1867-1868).
The Third Military District contained Alabama, Florida, and Georgia and was ruled by General George Meade (1867-1868).
The Fourth Military District contained Arkansas and Mississippi and was ruled by General Edward Ord, General Alvan Gillem and General Adelbert Ames (1867-1870).
The Fifth Military District contained Texas and Louisiana and was ruled by General Philip Sheridan, General Charles Griffin, and Major General Joseph Reynolds (1867-1870)
… Remember, it is your duty to see that the true history of the South is presented to future generations."
- Lt. General Stephen Dill Lee, Commander General, United Confederate Veterans, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1906
January - Confederate Heroes Day & Birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson
January 1, 1863 - Battle of Galveston, Texas. Major General John B. Magruder
recaptures the port and city of Galveston from Federal occupation. The
Federal’s fleet vessels USS Harriet Lane and Westfield were destroyed or
captured, along with 400 Federals taken prisoner. Galveston remained in
Confederate control for the balance of the war.
January 8, 1821 – General James Longstreet's birthday.
January 11, 1863 – CSS Alabama sinks gunboat USS Hatteras off Galveston,
Texas.
January 19 – State of Texas Confederate Heroes Day (holiday since 1931)
January 19, 1807 – Robert E Lee’s birthday (observed in many states on the 3rd
Monday in January)
January 21, 1804 – General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s birthday
January 31, 1865 – The Federal Senate passed the 13th Amendment abolishing
slavery in April 1864 but the House did not pass it. Lincoln dictated that it be
passed, so 10 months later and after much debate - on January 31, 1865 it was
finally passed by a vote of 119 to 56.
February – Birthday of Brig Gen. John Creed Moore & Election of President Jefferson Davis
Feb. 1, 1861 - Texas Secedes from the Union.
Feb. 6, 1833 – Major General J.E.B. (James Ewell Brown) Stuart’s birthday.
Feb. 9, 1861 – Provisional Confederate Congress selects Jefferson Davis as
President of the Confederate States of America. President Davis sends a Peace
Commission to Washington, D.C. but Lincoln, preferring warfare, refused to see
the Ambassadors.
Feb. 15, 1869 – After 4 years of captivity, the Federal government drops all
charges against President Jefferson Davis
Feb. 17, 1864 – CSS Hunley submarine sinks Federal warship USS Housatonic.
This marks the 1st submarine in history to sink an enemy vessel in combat.
Feb. 17, 1865 – After remnants of the Confederate Army are driven out and the
city surrendered, Sherman’s Federals get drunk, and loot and burn most of
Columbia, South Carolina to the ground.
Feb. 28, 1824 – Brig. Gen. John Creed Moore birthday
March - Adoption of the Confederate Constitution
March 5, 1862 – General P.G.T. Beauregard (Pierre Gustave Toutant) takes
command of the Army of the Mississippi (also known as Army of the West)
March 8, 1862 – Ironclad CSS Virginia rams and sinks Federal ship USS
Cumberland and then forces the surrender of the USS Congress
March 9, 1863 – Col. John S. Mosby captures Federal Brig. Gen. Edwin Stoughton
(and also captures 32 other Federal soldiers and 58 horses). Stoughton was held
in Richmond's Libby Prison from March until May, when he was exchanged.
March 11, 1861 – Confederate Constitution adopted unanimously by Convention
in Montgomery, Alabama
March 30, 1870 – after 5 years of Federal occupation, dictatorship, and martial law, Texas is
absorbed back into the “Union”.
April - Confederate music:
“Dixie” (1859), “The Bonnie Blue Flag” (1861), “All Quiet Along the Potomac” (1861), etc.
April 4, 1859 – “Dixie” performed for the first time in public
April 13, 1861 – Federal Fort Sumter, South Carolina surrenders after Confederate
artillery bombardment . There were no casualties. Lincoln called for 75,000
volunteers to invade and conqueror the South
April 14, 1865 – Dictator Lincoln assassinated
April 22, 1861 – Robert E. Lee confirmed as Commander of Virginia forces
April 22, 1861 – Louisiana Governor Thomas Overton Moore accepted into the
state militia a regiment of approximately 1,500 free blacks who pledged their
loyalty to the Confederate cause and who signed a militia muster roll. The
Louisiana state legislature rejected their efforts and the 1st Louisiana Native
Guard was disbanded.
May – Anniversary of the last battle of Lincoln's invasion, conquest, and
subjugation of the Confederate States of America
May 2 - May 4, 1863 – Battle of Chancellorsville. Federal General Hooker’s Army
of the Potomac (about 130,000 soldiers) is soundly defeated by Robert E. Lee’s
Army of Northern Virginia (with less than 60,000 soldiers) as it attempts to
invade Richmond.
May 10, 1863 – Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jackson dies after being shot by friendly fire
May 11, 1864 - Battle of Yellow Tavern, Virginia. Maj. Gen. JEB Stuart killed.
May 12 - 13, 1865 – Last battle of the war fought , Battle of Palmito Ranch, Texas.
It was a Confederate victory.
May 18, 1863 - Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi begins. The Confederates under
Lt. Gen. John Pemberton held out until July 3rd, when they attempted to
surrender. In a supreme act of arrogance, the Federals under Maj. Gen. U.S.
Grant refused to accept the surrender until the July 4th holiday.
May 25, 1863 – U.S. Ohio Congressman Vallindgham arrested by Federal soldiers
and ordered by Lincoln to be exiled to the Confederacy because he and other
Northerners were opposed the war .
May 26, 1865 – Surrender of Army of the Trans Mississippi by Gen. Kirby Smith
in Galveston, Texas. This was the last major army left in the Confederacy.
June – President Davis birthday
June 3, 1808 - Jefferson Davis birthday.
June 7, 1862 – Federal General “Beast” Butler “tried” civilian William Mumford
before a military tribunal under martial “law”. As an example for others, he was
hanged in a courtyard for tearing down a Federal flag in New Orleans.
June 9, 2000 – In the middle of the night, George W. Bush orders two Confederate
memorial plaques torn down from the Texas Supreme Court building. They
were sponsored by the Children of the Confederacy.
June 23, 1865 - Brigadier General Stand Watie is the last Confederate Commander
to surrender - near Doaksville, Indian Territory.
July – Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg...
Each year we remember that July 4th, 1776 stood for freedom and independence. But July 4th is also the day that Vicksburg, Mississippi fell to U.S. Grant (July 4th was not celebrated as a holiday in Vicksburg for 81 years.). Most Americans are unaware that the Federal Republic created in 1789 replaced the 1st Confederacy (1776-1788) and what was created in 1789 was laid to rest at Appomattox Courthouse in 1865. States Rights were limited through acts of violence, bloodshed and subjugation, and were dealt a death blow. In truth, we are celebrating a Federal Republic that is moving closer to a People’s Republic (like China, Russia, or Cuba) than the Republic created in 1789.
July 1, 1896 – Sons of Confederate Veterans founded
July 1-3, 1863 – Battle of Gettysburg. The Texas Brigade consisted of 3 Texas and
1 Arkansas infantry regiments assigned to John Bell Hood’s Division with the
Brigade commanded by Brig. Gen. Jerome Robertson until he was wounded on
July 2nd. The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war.
An estimated 51,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, captured, or listed as
missing. Maj. Gen. George Meade defeated attacks by Gen. Robert E. Lee’s
Army of Northern Virginia and halted Lee’s counter invasion of the North.
July 9, 1864 - Battle of Monocacy, Maryland. Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's
troops advanced on Washington, D.C. but were unsuccessful and forced to
retreat.
July 12, 1861 - Chickasaw Nation joins the Confederacy
July 13, 1821 – Nathan Bedford Forrest’s birthday
July 15, 1870 – Georgia last state absorbed back into the “Union”
August – Battle of Second Manassas (Yankee Bull Run)
August 12-18, 1862 - Battle of Corpus Christi, Texas. 5 Federal Navy ships
defeated 4 Confederate Navy ships but the Federals were defeated when they
landed on the coast and attempted to invade Texas.
August 17, 1862 – J.E.B. Stuart assumes command of the cavalry of the Army of
Northern Virginia.
August 22, 1862 – Lincoln’s letter stating the cause of the war: “…My paramount
object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to
destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would
do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I
could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that…”
August 29-30, 1862 – Battle of Second Manassas, Virginia. An estimated 77,000
Federals under Maj. Gen. John Pope were soundly defeated by 50,000
Confederates under Robert E. Lee.
September – Battle of Sabine Pass Texas and Harper’s Ferry Battle
September 2, 1864 – After Confederate troops leave, Atlanta, Georgia is
surrendered to Federal forces. A few days later Federal Gen. W.T. Sherman
orders the evacuation of the city. This began Sherman’s march to the sea with a
scorched earth policy of burning, looting, and killing all livestock in their path.
Private houses were burned to the ground and several towns in Georgia were
wiped off the map and never rebuilt.
September 8, 1863- a Federal Navy flotilla of some 22 gunboats and transports
with 5,000 Federal soldiers accompanied by cavalry and artillery attempted to
invade Texas through Sabine Pass. Confederate Lieut. Dick Dowling and 47
Davis Guard Confederates used Artillery to obliterate the invasion of Texas
attempt and resulted in capturing 2 gunboats, some 350 prisoners, and a large
quantity of supplies and munitions.
September 10, 1861 – President Jefferson Davis appoints Albert Sydney Johnston
in command of the Confederate West
September 10, 1894 – The United Daughters of the Confederacy is founded at
Nashville, Tenn.
September 15, 1862 – Stonewall Jackson takes 12,500 prisoners at Harper’s Ferry,
Virginia. It was the largest mass surrender in Federal Army history until World
War II.
October - Writ of Habeas Corpus
October 1, 1864 – John Summerfield Staples is paid 500.00 as a substitute for
Lincoln’s military service.
October 14, 1861 – Despite his Oath of Office, by Executive Order Lincoln
suspends habeas corpus, allowing the Federal government to arrest citizens for
months or years without charging them with a crime. Secretary of State William
Seward brags about simply ringing a bell on his desk to have “undesirables”
removed without a trace: “My Lord, I can touch a bell on my right hand, and
order the arrest of a citizen in Ohio. I can touch the bell again, and order the
arrest of a citizen in New York. Can the Queen of England, in her dominions,
do as much?” Roger Taney, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, ruled that
Lincoln did not have this authority but Lincoln simply ignored him and then
proceeded to imprison one third of the members of the Maryland General
assembly without charges or trial. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people were
eventually arrested without a prompt trial.
October12, 1870 - Gen Robert E. Lee, President of Washington College died. He
is buried in Lexington, VA. The college was later renamed Washington and
Lee University.
October 24, 1861 – West Virginia secedes from Virginia, without being invaded
for seceding.
November - Good month to correct false history of Lincoln's legacy.
November 6, 1860 – Abraham Lincoln receives 39.7% of the vote for President,
and even though 60.3% of voters did not vote for him, he is declared the
winner, defeating Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge, and John Bell.
November 25, 1863 – Battle of Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Three
Federal armies attacked the Confederate Army of the Tennessee. Although
outnumbered 10 to 1, Confederate Patrick Cleburne stopped William Tecumseh
Sherman in his tracks. Confederate General Bragg did not do as well and was
forced to retreat to Dalton, Georgia. Federal troops under Sheridan were stopped
by Confederate Lt. Gen, William Hardee’s rear guard action.
December - Battle of Fredericksburg
December, 1860 – South Carolina is the first state to secede from the “Union”
December, 1863 – Confederate General Patrick R. Cleburne wrote a memorandum
advocating the emancipation and enlistment of black men as Confederate
soldiers.
December 6, 1889 - President Jefferson Davis died. President Davis was initially
buried in New Orleans Louisiana. In 1893, he was re-interred in Richmond,
Virginia.
December 11, 1862 – Federal Gen. U.S. Grant issues Special Order 11, expelling
all Jews from his district. (Grant also believed in slavery and was a slave
owner.)
December 13, 1862 - Battle of Fredericksburg. Gen. Ambrose Burnside and the
Federal Army of the Potomac with an estimated 122,000 soldiers is soundly
beaten by Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia with 78,000 soldiers.
Federal Occupation After The War Between The States (the so-called “Reconstruction” period)
The South was divided into five military districts which were then governed by military dictators. All social, economic, and political activity in the Southern states was controlled by the federal military and all Governors and Legislators were removed from office.
One of the requirements for “readmission” to the Union was that new “acceptable” state constitutions had to be approved by the Northern U.S. Congress. All males, regardless of race, but excluding former Confederates, were permitted to participate in the constitutional conventions that formed the new governments in each state.
Federal troops continued to occupy Southern states until 1877 when a Congressional bargain was struck to elect Republican Rutherford Hayes as President. Federal troops were then withdrawn from the last three states (South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida) in the South and, after 12 years, the occupation was finally ended. States Rights were also effectively ended.
The First Military District contained only Virginia and lasted for 3 years. The district was ruled by Brigadier General John Schofield (1867-1868), Colonel George Stoneman (1868-1869), and Brigadier General Edward Canby (1869-1870).
The Second Military District contained North and South Carolina and was ruled by Major General Daniel Sickles (August 26, 1867) and then by Brigadier General Edward Canby (August 1867-1868).
The Third Military District contained Alabama, Florida, and Georgia and was ruled by General George Meade (1867-1868).
The Fourth Military District contained Arkansas and Mississippi and was ruled by General Edward Ord, General Alvan Gillem and General Adelbert Ames (1867-1870).
The Fifth Military District contained Texas and Louisiana and was ruled by General Philip Sheridan, General Charles Griffin, and Major General Joseph Reynolds (1867-1870)