Civil War Timeline — 1861

Compiled by Jim Hachtel, President of the Gen. William T. Sherman Memorial Civil War Roundtable, and originally published as “150 Years Ago This Week.”

September 19–26, 1861

1. September 19, 1861 C.S.A. General Sterling Price is reinforced by artillery units near Lexington, Missouri. The Confederate forces continue their siege while Union forces under Colonel James A. Mulligan resist, unaware that a relief column of 3,000 men led by Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis has been turned back. (See Sept. 13th entry.)
2. September 19, 1861 Earl Van Dorn is promoted to major general, C.S.A.
3. September 19, 1861 At Barbourville, Kentucky, Union forces are driven off by forces under Gen. Felix K. Zollicoffer allowing Confederates to continue erecting strong defensive positions across Cumberland Gap, Bowling Green, and Columbus. (See Sept. 3rd entry.)
4. September 20, 1861 Colonel Mulligan, 23rd Illinois Regiment, surrenders 3,600 Union troops to Gen. Sterling Price at Lexington after a 9-day siege. Price seizes 3,000 rifles and seven cannons. The competence of General John C. Fremont again comes under question in Washington due to his failure to reinforce.
5. September 20, 1861 General Robert Anderson is instructed to establish his headquarters at Louisville as Confederates abandon Mayfield, Kentucky.
6. September 21, 1861 The Department of the Ohio is now commanded by General Ormsby M. Mitchel.
7. September 21, 1861 C.S.A. General Albert Sidney Johnston calls for 30,000 new volunteers from Tennessee for service in the West.
8. September 21, 1861 General Leonidas Polk is appointed to command Western Division Department #2 (Tennessee) for the Confederates.
9. September 22, 1861 C.S.A. General Joseph E. Johnston calls for 10,000 volunteers from Arkansas and Missouri to serve in Department #2.
10. September 22, 1861 At Mayfield Creek, Kentucky, General U.S. Grant encounters skirmishers as he moves toward Columbus, KY.
11. September 23, 1861 Winfield S. Hancock becomes a brigadier general, U.S. Army.
12. September 23, 1861 General Fremont closes a St. Louis newspaper that blamed him for the surrender of Lexington, Missouri.
13. September 24, 1861 James Ewell Brown (J.E.B.) Stewart becomes brigadier general of Confederate cavalry.
14. September 25, 1861 Joseph Johnston and Jefferson Davis have another heated encounter, this time over staffing levels and strategy.
15. September 25, 1861 General Rosecrans advances into the Kenawha Valley, western Virginia, intent on eliminating Confederate forces in the area.
16. September 25, 1861 The U.S. Navy Department authorizes employment of “contrabands” on board vessels. They will draw pay at the rank of “boy” - one ration per day and $10.00 per month.
17. September 26, 1861 Confederate troops capture salt works in Clay County, Kentucky and destroy locks at the mouth of Muddy River, Kentucky. This involves Generals Zollicoffer and Simon Buckner with troops in the defensive line across southern Kentucky near the Tennessee border.

September 27 – October 4, 1861

1. September 27, 1861 President Lincoln and General George B. McClellan discuss a new offensive in Virginia. The discussion becomes heated with Lincoln criticizing the general’s inactivity and McClellan insisting that the Army of the Potomac is not ready for combat.
2. September 28, 1861 The 71st Pennsylvania under Colonel Edward D. Baker successfully defends their small force in a skirmish near Vanderburgh’s House, Virginia.
3. September 28, 1861 Confederate schooner San Juan is captured by the USS Susquehanna near Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
4. September 28, 1861 Thomas C. Hindman is promoted to brigadier general, C.S.A.
5. September 29, 1861 The 71st Pennsylvania is accidentally fired on by the 69th Pennsylvania near Munson’s Hill, Virginia. Fatalities result. The Pennsylvania 71st, formerly the California Regiment also known as The Fire Zouaves Regiment, still wore gray uniforms.
6. September 29, 1861 Union activity is anticipated in North Carolina resulting in C.S.A. General Daniel H. Hill being ordered from Virginia into North Carolina. Hill was a West Point graduate, had resigned from the Army in 1849, and was Superintendent of the North Carolina Military Institute from 1859 until the war began.
7. September 29, 1861 The USS Susquehanna has continued success when it overtakes the Confederate schooner Baltimore off Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina.
8. September 29, 1861 Skirmishes continue along the Confederate defensive line across southern Kentucky. The 12th Kentucky under Colonel William A. Hoskins engages the Confederates at Albany, Kentucky and Travisville, Tennessee.
9. September 30, 1861 Confederate scout Captain R. Hardeman leads action against hostile Native Americans near Camp Robledo, New Mexico Territory.
10. September 30, 1861 The USS Niagara, operating on the Mississippi River, captures the Confederate pilot boat Frolic near South West Pass. South West Pass is in the Delta Region south of New Orleans. The same day the USS Dart captures the Confederate schooner Zavalla off Vermillion Bay, south of New Iberia, Louisiana.
11. October 1, 1861 At Centerville, Virginia, Generals Joseph E. Johnston, Pierre G. T. Beauregard, and Gustavus W. Smith meet with Confederate President Jefferson Davis. They continue to discuss strategy and ultimately agree to consolidate their position and delay a planned offensive operation into Northern held territory until at least next spring. Pres. Davis also turns down a request from the generals to issue a call for 20,000 more troops.
12. October 1, 1861 General Benjamin Butler is reassigned to the Dept. of New England, recently created to raise and train new troops. October 1, 1861 - Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles opposes letters of reprisal or complaint against the South, as this would imply recognition of the South’s national sovereignty.
13. October 1, 1861 Confederate navel vessels capture the USS Fanny off Plimlico Sound, North Carolina and rename it the CSS Fanny.
14. October 2, 1861 U.S. Senator John C. Breckinridge, about to be expelled from Congress, flees Kentucky to avoid arrest as a traitor. He joins the Confederate Army.
15. October 2, 1861 Pro-Union forces from Cairo, Illinois attack a camp at Charleston, Missouri. Intermittent strife continues in southeast Missouri.
16. October 3, 1861 Governor Thomas Moore of Louisiana bans cotton exports in an attempt to force England and France to recognize the independence of the Confederate States of America.
17. October 3, 1861 The New York 26th and the New York 31st move into Confederate territory. General Henry W. Slocum dispatches the 26th to Pohick Church, Virginia while the 31st marches to Springfield Station, Virginia as directed by General William B. Franklin. Skirmishes erupt at both sites.
18. October 3, 1861 General Joseph Reynolds leads 5,000 Union troops from Cheat Mountain toward Camp Barrow, a Confederate position along the Greenbrier River in western Virginia. After two determined attacks, Reynolds withdraws back to Cheat Mountain and an impasse settles over the region.
19. October 4, 1861 The Confederacy reaches accord with the Shawnee, Seneca, and Cherokee in Indian Territory. An agreement with the Osage was settled a few days earlier.
20. October 4, 1861 President Lincoln approves one ironclad to be built as proposed after John Ericsson’s new design. The first of the Union’s ironclads, the Monitor, is planned.
21. October 4, 1861 The USS South Carolina captures the Confederate schooners Ezilda and Joseph H. Toone at South West Pass on the Mississippi.

October 5–12, 1861

1. October 5, 1861 The Union garrison at Hatteras Inlet is now commanded by General Joseph K. F. Mansfield.
2. October 5, 1861 Heavy fire from the USS Monticello helps to repulse a Confederate attack by troops carried to Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina by steamer.
3. October 6, 1861 The blockade running Confederate schooner Alert is captured off Charleston, South Carolina by the USS Flag.
4. October 7, 1861 Pres. Lincoln sends Secretary of War Simon Cameron, carrying a letter from the President, to meet with General Samuel R. Curtis. The fate of General John C. Fremont in Missouri is the point of discussion.
5. October 7, 1861 The C.S.A. promotes William J. Hardee, Thomas J. Jackson, James Longstreet, and John B. Magruder to major generals.
6. October 7, 1861 In a show of his leadership, General John C. Fremont leads 40,000 troops from St. Louis toward Lexington, Missouri. Confederate General Sterling Price abandons Lexington, withdrawing south.
7. October 7, 1861 The new CSS Virginia, constructed from the scuttled USS Merrimack and now armored, makes its first appearance off Hampton Roads, Virginia.
8. October 7, 1861 U. S. Grant uses the USS Tyler and the USS Lexington on a reconnaissance near Lucas Bend, Missouri.
9. October 8, 1861 General Robert Anderson (of Fort Sumter fame) is replaced by General William Tecumseh Sherman at Louisville, Kentucky. Anderson is ill and eventually resigns from the Army.
10. October 9, 1861 In a relatively major battle, Gen. Richard H. Anderson leads 1,000 Confederate troops across Pensacola Bay and attacks Fort Pickens, driving the 6th New York from their camp. Union Colonel Harvey Brown brings several companies of regulars from the fort and, assisted by artillery, drives the Confederate force back. Brown’s reported loss is 13 killed, 27 wounded, and 21 missing. Anderson lost 18 dead, 39 wounded and 30 captured.
11. October 10, 1861 President Jefferson Davis ponders the use of slaves as laborers for the Confederacy in a letter to General Gustavus W. Smith.
12. October 11, 1861 Edmund Kirby Smith becomes a Major General, C.S.A.
13. October 12, 1861 General Fremont continues his advances and encounters heavy skirmishing at Clinton and Cameron, Missouri.
14. October 12, 1861 Confederate rammer CSS Manassas is launched from New Orleans and, accompanied by the steamers CSS Ivy and CSS James L. Day, ventures south on the Mississippi. The Manassas successfully rams the USS Richmond and USS Vincennes, running them aground before steaming back upstream. The Union vessels are refloated and the blockade resumes.
15. October 12, 1861 The USS St. Louis, the first Union Ironclad, is launched at Carondelet, Missouri.

October 13–28, 1861

1. October 13, 1861 Confederate troops commanded by General Turner Ashby make a raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Shelling of the village causes mills and storehouses to burn.
2. October 13, 1861 General Thomas Williams succeeds General James K. F. Mansfield as commander of Union forces at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. (See two entries of Oct. 5,1861.)
3. October 14, 1861 President Abraham Lincoln orders General Winfield Scott to suspend writs of habeas corpus from Maine to Washington, D.C. This is done to discourage treasonable activity in the region.
4. October 14, 1861 At Port Royal, South Carolina, General Thomas W. Sherman is ordered to organize and arm fugitive slaves into military squads. This order came from Secretary of War Simon Cameron.
5. October 14, 1861 C.S.A. General Braxton Bragg becomes commander of the newly created Department of Alabama, which includes western Florida.
6. October 15, 1861 Confederate raiders based in southeastern Missouri and organized by former Virginia attorney Jeff Thompson, attack a Union outpost in Potosi, Missouri. They burn the Big River Bridge and take 33 prisoners, members of the Illinois 38th.
7. October 16, 1861 Confederate soldiers request to return home and join state militias. Jefferson Davis denies the request.
8. October 16, 1861 Union forces reoccupy Lexington, Missouri.
9. October 17, 1861 Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont informs U. S. Navy Secretary Gideon Wells that Port Royal, South Carolina would be an important asset to the blockade effort.
10. October 18, 1861 President Lincoln requests troops from the armies of General McClellan and General W. T. Sherman for an upcoming coastal expedition. Both Generals refuse stating that they are already under manned. Lincoln also meets with his cabinet to discuss the upcoming retirement of General Winfield Scott and his possible replacement.
11. October 18, 1861 Confederate raider Jeff Thompson continues raids near Warrensburg in southern Missouri. This time he hits the 11th Missouri Regiment commanded by Colonel Joseph B. Plummer.
12. October 20, 1861 General McClellan, pressured by Radical Republicans to assume the offensive, sends Colonel Charles P. Stone from his Maryland base to “demonstrate” near the Confederate lines near Leesburg, Virginia. Stone sends a single brigade of 1,700 men under political appointee and Lincoln friend, Colonel Edward D. Baker to make a “slight demonstration” to test Confederate reaction. Confederate Colonel Nathan G. Evans gets word of the advance of the Union force and prepares his defense.
13. October 21, 1861 Colonel Edward Baker ferries his 1,700 men across the Potomac River at Ball’s Bluff, Virginia and encounters a 100-foot high bluff on the landing shore. Confederate forces in the woods above the bluff take advantage of their superior position and 49 Union men are killed including Colonel Baker, 158 wounded and 714 captured. President Lincoln is shaken when he is informed of the death of his friend.
14. October 21, 1861 Colonel Nathan G. Evans is promoted to brigadier general, C.S.A. to reward his Ball’s Bluff performance.
15. October 21, 1861 Colonel J. B. Plummer occupies Fredericktown, Missouri following a three-hour battle against Confederate Forces. (See Oct 18th entry.)
16. October 22, 1861 General Pierre G. T. Beauregard retains command of the Division of the Potomac but the new Confederate Department of Virginia is carved out of the larger army with General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding.
17. October 22, 1861 General Benjamin F. Kelly commands the new Department of Harpers Ferry for the Union.
18. October 22, 1861 General Thomas J. Jackson leads Confederate forces into the Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia.
19. October 23, 1861 General W. T. Sherman is alarmed by the strength of Confederate defenses in Kentucky as skirmishing breaks out at Hodgeville and West Liberty, Kentucky.
20. October 24, 1861 President Lincoln attends the funeral of his friend Colonel Edward D. Baker.
21. October 24, 1861 Inhabitants of western Virginia endorse a plan to form their own state.
22. October 24, 1861 Western Union completes the transcontinental telegraph.
23. October 25, 1861 Springfield, Missouri is occupied by Union cavalry forces, actually a small force of General Fremont’s bodyguards; Major Charles Zagonyi, commanding. The bold move resulted in a Union victory and is the lone praiseworthy achievement for General Fremont. (NOTE-Remember, Secretary of War Cameron was sent to Missouri to assess Fremont’s performance. Cameron arrived in Missouri October 11 and conducted interviews, inspected camps, and the general state of affairs.)
24. October 25, 1861 The keel of the USS Monitor, Swedish inventor John Ericsson’s one-turret warship, is laid at Greenpoint, New York.
25. October 26, 1861 General Benjamin Butler reports that all Confederate forces are removed from western Virginia after skirmishing at Romney and South Branch Bridge.
26. October 26, 1861 Missouri Home Guard commander Sterling Price and General John C. Fremont agree on a prisoner exchange.
27. October 27, 1861 General John C. Fremont moves his Army toward Springfield in the mistaken belief that Sterling Price is still in that area. Price has long since retreated to safety due to Fremont’s lethargic moves.
28. October 28, 1861 Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston relieves General Simon B. Buckner at Bowling Green, Kentucky.

October 29 – November 12, 1861

1. October 29, 1861 Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont departs Hampton Roads, Virginia with 17 warships, 25 transports, and 25 supply ships along with 13,000 Union troops commanded by General Thomas W. Sherman. They intend to capture Port Royal, South Carolina (between Charleston and Savannah). This large flotilla encounters heavy seas and is widely scattered.
2. October 30, 1861 President Jefferson Davis confronts General Pierre G.T. Beauregard about his report on the Battle of First Manassas. The President had claimed Beauregard attempted to “exalt yourself at my expense.” The two never reconciled.
3. October 30, 1861 Confederate forces sink stone-filled barges near Fort Donelson, Tennessee (on the Cumberland River) to obstruct Union gunboats.
4. October 31, 1861 At Neosho, Missouri, southern leaning legislators vote to side with the Confederacy. The state remained divided and was claimed by both sides throughout the war.
5. October 31, 1861 General Winfield Scott voluntarily resigns due to poor health and his age of 75. He resides at West Point, NY throughout the rest of the Civil War.
6. November 1, 1861 General George B. McClellan, 35 years old with a high reputation but little experience, replaces General Scott as General in Chief of the Union Army.
7. November 1, 1861 Confederate troops under General John B. Floyd botch an attack on General Rosecrans at Gauley Bridge and Cotton Hill in western Virginia. Confederate withdrawal from the area is now complete.
8. November 1, 1861 General Ulysses S. Grant arrives in Cairo, Illinois and plans his advance on Columbus, Kentucky.
9. November 1, 1861 General John C. Fremont concluded the prisoner exchange with General Sterling Price. Fremont exceeds his authority by releasing civilians now in military custody and President Lincoln negates his order.
10. November 2, 1861 General John C. Fremont is relieved of command of the Department of the West at Springfield, Missouri and is temporarily replaced by General David Hunter.
11. November 4, 1861 Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont finally reaches Port Royal Sound, South Carolina after several days at sea. (See note of October 29,1861.) The flotilla completes their mission and withdraws.
12. November 4, 1861 General Thomas J. Jackson moves his headquarters to Winchester, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley.
13. November 4, 1861 President Davis and General P. G. T. Beauregard argue over strategy. Davis consults Generals Robert E. Lee and Samuel Cooper in his frustration with Beauregard.
14. November 5, 1861 General Robert E. Lee assumes command of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
15. November 6, 1861 The Confederate Congress elects President Jefferson Davis as permanent chief executive of the Confederate States of America.
16. November 6, 1861 General Fremont, still acting as if he is commander of the Department of the West, orders U.S. Grant to Belmont to decrease the Confederate pressure on the rest of Missouri. (Interestingly, the several sources used to put this historical review together do not agree on the date President Lincoln finally relieved Fremont or the date Fremont actually steps down. I have found a range of dates from October 24th through November 4th. I selected November 2, 1861 as the most reliable date reported as it comes from Samuel M. Schmucker’s 1861 report in THE CIVIL WAR IN THE UNITED STATES published in 1865.)
17. November 6, 1861 General U.S. Grant makes an amphibious descent from Cairo, Illinois with two infantry brigades, artillery, and cavalry. His destination is Belmont, Missouri, directly across from Columbus, Kentucky.
18. November 7, 1861 General Leonidas Polk and General Gideon Pillow repulse General U. S. Grant at Belmont, Missouri.
19. November 7, 1861 The Southern Blockading Squadron under Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont (October 29 and November 4, 1861 entries) disembarks General Thomas Sherman and his 13,000 troops, and then fires on Forts Beauregard and Walker at Port Royal. Port Royal and Hilton Head become major Union coaling stations throughout the war.
20. November 8, 1861 General Robert E. Lee directs coastline evacuation of Confederate troops (except at Fort Pulaski) in light of the Port Royal loss.
21. November 9, 1861 General Thomas Sherman captures the city of Beauford with support from gunboats of the blockading squadron.
22. November 9, 1861 In a major Union restructuring, General Henry Halleck becomes commander of the new Department of Missouri, which includes Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, and western Kentucky. General Don C. Buell replaces General William T. Sherman as head of the Department of the Cumberland, which is enlarged and renamed the Department of Ohio.
23. November 11, 1861 General Leonidas Polk is wounded when a cannon explodes during test firing at Columbus, Kentucky.
24. November 12, 1861 The British built steamer Fingal delivers military cargo to Savannah, Georgia and is armed and rechristened CSS Atlanta.

November 13–27, 1861

1. November 13, 1861 President Lincoln is snubbed by General George B. McClellan when Lincoln calls on the General at McClellan’s Headquarters and McClellan retires to bed. General McClellan was ordered to the White House for all subsequent meetings with the President.
2. November 15, 1861 Captain David G. Farragut is selected by Secretary Gideon Wells to be the Naval leader in an expedition against New Orleans, the south’s second largest city and a significant port. Wells was persuaded to choose Farragut by Captain David D. Porter, Farragut’s stepbrother.
3. November 15, 1861 General Don C. Buell arrives in Louisville, Kentucky to command the Department of the Ohio, replacing General William T. Sherman. President Lincoln urges Buell to advance into pro-Union eastern Tennessee. (Sherman was replaced due to his nervousness about being outnumbered by Confederate Forces, the high concentration of volunteers in his Department and their poor training, and newspaper reports that he was insane.)
4. November 15, 1861 The USS San Jacinto arrives at Fortress Monroe, Virginia with James M. Mason and John Slidell, Confederate emissaries to Britain and France aboard. This is the first news of the unauthorized boarding of the British packet Trent by Captain Charles Wilkes several days earlier.
5. November 16, 1861 Eight days after Captain Charles Wilkes violates international law involving rights of neutral nations by boarding the British mail-packet Trent and removing Southern envoys James Mason and John Slidell, Postmaster General Montgomery Blair and Senator Charles Sumner urge their immediate release.
6. November 18, 1861 Confederate leaning Kentuckians adopt a secession ordinance. Missouri and Kentucky both maintain separate legislatures, both Confederate and Union, for the next three years.
7. November 18, 1861 The fifth session of the Provisional Confederate Congress meets in Richmond and remains in session through February 17, 1862.
8. November 20, 1861 General George B. McClellan reviews the 70,000 men of the Army of the Potomac outside Washington, D.C. Visitors comment on the discipline and marching skill of the troops in contrast to the amateurish forces hastily assembled the past summer.
9. November 20, 1861 General Halleck, recently assigned to the Department of Missouri in St. Louis, issues General Order #3 prohibiting former slaves from working in military camps.
10. November 21, 1861 Confederate General Lloyd Tilghman becomes commander of both Fort Henry on the Tennessee River, and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland. These strategic forts are the core of the Confederate defenses in the central part of the divided United States.
11. November 21, 1861 CSA General Albert S. Johnston again calls for 10,000 volunteers for the defense of Columbus, Kentucky.
12. November 22, 1861 The Navy Department is authorized to recruit 500 marines and naval officers.
13. November 23, 1861 A Union garrison repulses the Confederate attack on Ft. Pulaski on Santa Rosa Island, Pensacola, Florida.
14. November 24, 1861 Colonel Nathan B. Forrest leads cavalry raids on Caseyville and Eddyville, Kentucky. This is Forrest’s first notice in the war.
15. November 24, 1861 Captain Wilkes reaches Boston, Massachusetts aboard the San Jacinto. Confederate emissaries Slidell and Mason are imprisoned at Fort Warren.
16. November 25, 1861 Northern troops captured while burning bridges are to be hanged, if found guilty at court martial, by edict of Confederate secretary of war Judah P. Benjamin.
17. November 26, 1861 At Wheeling, Virginia, a constituent’s convention resolves to secede from Virginia and form a separate state.
18. November 27, 1861 Word of the “Trent Affair” reaches Great Britain. Talk of war on the United States and the “outrage on the British flag” causes indignation to run high.
19. November 27, 1861 The large navel fleet assembled to capture control of New Orleans (see November 15 entry) leaves Hampton Roads, Virginia for Ships Island, Mississippi.

November 28 – December 12, 1861

1. November 28, 1861 Missouri is inducted into the Confederacy by the Confederate Congress as their 12th state. The Union does not recognize this move.
2. November 28, 1861 General Benjamin M. Prentiss becomes commander of Union forces in the Department of North Missouri.
3. November 29, 1861 Farmers near Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia burn cotton to avoid Union confiscation of the crop.
4. November 29, 1861 General John Schofield takes command of Union militia in Missouri.
5. November 30, 1861 The Trent Affair continues as British Foreign Secretary Lord John Russell demands a formal apology and the immediate release of Confederate agents James Mason and John Slidell. British Minister to the United States, Lord Lyons, is instructed to depart Washington D.C. in one week if demands are not met.
6. December 1, 1861 Six thousand British troops are sent to Canada and Admiral Sir Alexander Milne moves 40 vessels (with 1,273 guns mounted) to Halifax, Nova Scotia as the British Cabinet prepares for war.
7. December 1, 1861 U.S. Secretary of War Cameron and President Lincoln discuss what should be done with the thousands of slaves flocking to Union lines. Desperate to maintain loyalty of Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri, Lincoln orders all mention of emancipation or military service for former slaves to be struck from all government reports.
8. December 1, 1861 President Lincoln contacts General George B. McClellan and inquires exactly when offensive operation would resume.
9. December 1, 1861 Confederate authorities in Tennessee hang pro-Union guerrillas charged with burning railroad bridges.
10. December 2, 1861 General Henry Halleck is authorized to suspend writs of habeas corpus in Missouri.
11. December 2, 1861 The U.S. Congress convenes their 37th Session.
12. December 2, 1861 Secretary of War Simon Cameron reports to Congress that the Union Army consists of 20,334 soldiers and 640,637 volunteers (3-years).
13. December 2, 1861 Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells reports 22,000 men and 264 vessels make up the Union Navy. A total of 153 enemy vessels have been captured to date.
14. December 3, 1861 President Lincoln addresses Congress and suggests slaves appropriated from Southern “owners” be allowed to emigrate.
15. December 3, 1861 General Benjamin Butler’s first two regiments reach Ship’s Island, Mississippi and rapidly convert the area to a major staging area for operations against New Orleans.
16. December 4, 1861 All British exports to the United States are stopped.
17. December 4, 1861 The U.S. Senate votes to remove former Vice President John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky from their roles. Breckenridge has served as a Confederate general since November.
18. December 4, 1861 General Henry Halleck arrives in Missouri and continues punitive measures against Confederate sympathizers, including death for anyone found guilty of aiding the rebel cause.
19. December 5, 1861 Congress has a petition brought before the body that would mandate abolition of slavery if passed.
20. December 6, 1861 Pro-Union newspaper editor William G. Brownlow is arrested in Knoxville and is charged with treason by the Confederate authorities.
21. December 7, 1861 The United States ship “USS Santiago de Cuba” stops the British vessel “Eugenia Smith” and removes Confederate Purchasing Agent J. W. Zacharie of New Orleans. Tension continues to rise in light of the Trent affair.
22. December 8, 1861 7,000 Bibles are distributed to Union Troops by the American Bible Society.
23. December 9, 1861 Congress votes 33-3 to establish an oversight committee to monitor the conduct of the war. This becomes infamous as the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War and was forever disliked by most Union Officers. The committee defended themselves claiming they would stop any further disasters such as Bull Run and Ball’s Bluff.
24. December 10, 1861 The Confederate Congress recognizes the Kentucky “government” and makes Kentucky their 13th state. Again, the United States never recognized this arrangement.
25. December 11, 1861 Charleston, South Carolina is nearly destroyed by accidental fire. More than half of the city is consumed.
26. December 12, 1861 As Union forces expand out from Port Royal Sound, U.S. Marine forces (Navy on land) take over a Confederate base on the Ashepoo River in South Carolina.

December 13–31, 1861

1. December 13, 1861 Robert H. Milroy, newly appointed Union General, directs an attack against Confederate troops in western Virginia. Milroy marches his 830 men from Cheat Mountain while Colonel Gideon C. Moody moves his 930 men more than 12 miles to attack the 1,200 Confederates garrisoned atop Allegheny Mountain. Moody is delayed by poor terrain and Confederate General Edward Johnson charges downhill against first Milroy’s troops and some five hours later against Moody. Union losses: 20 dead, 107 wounded, and 10 missing. Confederate losses: 20 killed, 98 wounded and 28 missing. This was after the western Virginia counties had voted to split from the rest of Virginia.
2. December 16, 1861 Congressman Clement Vallandigham of Ohio introduces a resolution commending Captain Charles Wilkes for his role in the Trent Affair. Vallandigham is soon vilified as a “Copperhead.”
3. December 17, 1861 Armed forces from Spain, Britain, and France occupy Vera Cruz, Mexico, seeking reparations for foreign debts. When Napoleon III maneuvers to seize political control of Mexico, Spain and Britain withdraw. The United States accuses the French of taking advantage of America at a time when domestic strife is high.
4. December 17, 1861 The U.S. Navy scuttles a “stone Fleet” of seven old vessels at the mouth of Savannah Harbor, Georgia.
5. December 18, 1861 Union troops surround and capture more than 1500 Confederate soldiers and their equipment at Milford, Missouri. General John Pope discovers Confederate positions along Blackwater Creek, Missouri and General Sterling Price quickly withdraws.
6. December 19, 1861 British minister to the United States, Lord Lyons, alerts Secretary of State Seward that Britain expects the unconditional release of James Mason and John Slidell (Trent Affair). Seward requests a formal presentation of the British demands on December 23rd.
7. December 20, 1861 The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War is formally instituted with Radical Republicans including Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Zachariah Chandler of Michigan. This group was formed in the wake of the defeats at Bull Run (July) and Ball’s Bluff (October).
8. December 20, 1861 A battle at Dranesville, Virginia involving Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart and Union General Edward O.C. Ord takes place as both sides compete for fodder and food. The two forces numbered about 4,000 total and many units saw their first action here. Stuart withdraws losing 43 killed, 143 wounded, and 8 missing (198 total) while Ord has 7 killed and 61 wounded.
9. December 21, 1861 The Navy Metal of Honor is instituted by Congress.
10. December 22, 1861 General Halleck repeats his order that anyone sabotaging Union railroads or rolling stock will be shot immediately.
11. December 23, 1861 British Minister Lyons submits his formal note to Secretary of State Seward stating that agents Slidell and Mason must be released within one week or the British Ambassador will be withdrawn.
12. December 23, 1861 Colonel James A. Garfield is dispatched with 1,100 infantry and 450 cavalry to southeastern Kentucky to break up a concentration of Confederate Troops.
13. December 24, 1861 General Henry A. Wise is moved from the Virginia theater to a quiet sector in North Carolina due to poor performance.
14. December 25, 1861 President Lincoln celebrates Christmas and late in the day confers with legal authorities about the Confederate envoys still held prisoner by the North.
15. December 25, 1861 General U.S. Grant orders the expulsion of all fugitive former slaves from Ft. Holt, Kentucky.
16. December 26, 1861 President Lincoln’s Cabinet concurs that the seizure of Confederate agents is illegal and they should be released and allowed to continue their trip to Europe. While Captain Wilkes is blamed and the incident is deemed a “misunderstanding” by Captain Wilkes, an international crisis is averted.
17. December 26, 1861 Martial Law is declared by General Halleck for areas within St. Louis and the nearby railroad properties.
18. December 27, 1861 Secretary of State Henry H. Seward informs the House and Senate Foreign Relations Committees about the president’s decision to release Slidell and Mason from captivity at Fort Warren, Boston, Massachusetts.
19. December 28, 1861 Colonel Nathan B. Forrest leads a force of 300 Confederate Cavalry troops toward Sacramento, Kentucky but encounters a force of 168 Union men led by Major Eli Murray en route. During the skirmish, Forrest calls his Confederate troops to realign, a maneuver which Major Murray believes is a retreat. In the confusion, Murray charges and loses two officers plus 11 enlisted killed and 40 prisoners taken. This is the second event that caused Forrest to be noticed by his superiors.
20. December 31, 1861 Lincoln asks about activity planned in Halleck’s Missouri Theater when he becomes aware there are no plans for any movement in the East. As the year ends, the President is disappointed and talks of the slowness of planning and the lack of success in light of the earlier predictions of a “short war.”