Episodes Nearest to February 8, 1862: 1 through 25 of 25

  1. The Fall of Roanoke Island
    date February 8, 1862map CURRITUCK, North Carolinatags War

    At around 7 a.m. on the morning of February 8, 1862, General Burnside and his 7,500 Union troops attacked the east side of Roanoke Island off the northern coast of North Carolina. The heavily outnumbered Confederates were forced north of their position, unknowing of their newly encountered terrain. One must further mention that in addition to the foreign terrain, Colonel Shaw's Confederates...

  2. Southern Women's Involvement in Charitable Organizations
    date February 10, 1862map SHENANDOAH, Virginiatags Arts/Leisure, Church/Religious-Activity, War, Women

    In 1862 Sigismunda S. Kimball, from Shenandoah County, Virginia was suddenly, like so many other women of the South, thrown into a completely different world as the Civil War raged through the South. Mrs. Kimball was put in charge of her family's plantation while her husband was away at war and she kept the plantation records in a journal which she wrote in everyday. In this journal she wrote...

  3. The Seizure of Fort Henry
    date February 6, 1862 to February 16, 1862map STEWART, Tennesseetags War

    On February 6th, General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union captured Fort Henry, Tennessee, the first victory for the United States in the Civil War. Accompanied by his troops, General Grant arrived on the morning of the 6th, having been transported by a fleet of ironclads commanded by Commodore Foote. After setting foot on land, it took a mere two hours until the fort was captured, officially being...

  4. Confederate Privateersmen to be treated as POW's
    date February 4, 1862map Washington City, District of Columbiatags War

    On February 4, 1862, it had been decided by the Federal government in Washington, D.C. to consider all captured Confederate rebel privateersmen as prisoners of war and not pirates. Outlined by the government, such prisoners were to then be exchanged for the hostages in custody of the United States. Rather than simply executing the rebels, the humane and important course of action taken by the...

  5. Southern Women's Involvement in Charitable Organizations
    date February 5, 1862 to February 20, 1862map SHENANDOAH, Virginiatags Arts/Leisure, Church/Religious-Activity, War, Women

    In 1862 Sigismunda S. Kimball, from Shenandoah County, Virginia was suddenly, like so many other women of the South, thrown into a completely different world as the Civil War raged through the South. Mrs. Kimball was put in charge of her family's plantation while her husband was away at war and she kept the plantation records in a journal which she wrote in everyday. In this journal she wrote...

  6. Florence, South Carolina Residents Defend Their Home
    date February, 1862map MARION, South Carolinatags War

    When the battle came to the home of the residents of Florence, South Carolina, they stood up, assumed their responsibility, and fought it. In February, 1862, a siege was initiated against the section of the Carolinian coast that included Florence. At the time, there were six steamboats at Florence Landing. During the attack, two of these boats were taken by Union forces. The other four, however,...

  7. Special War Order No. 1 Issued
    date January 31, 1862map Washington City, District of Columbiatags War

    On January 31, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued Special War Order No. 1 in order to successfully implement his General War Order No. 1 issued long before. Specifically pertaining to the Army of the Potomac, the Federal forces were ordered to form an expedition to seize and occupy “a point upon the Railroad South Westward of what is known of [sic] Manassas Junction.' To be carried...

  8. Forrest Escapes Union Forces in Kentucky
    date February 16, 1862map CALLOWAY, Kentuckytags Nathan Bedford Forrest

    Nathan Bedford Forrest enlisted in the War of the Rebellion for the South as a private in 1861. By 1862 he had risen to the position of lieutenant-colonel. Forrest had never been in the army nor had he attended a military preparation institution—he had no military experience yet still rose to be a great commander.

    At Fort Donelson in Kentucky, Forrest was under the command of Generals...

  9. Slave Trader Captain Gordon Executed
    date February 21, 1862map NEW YORK, New Yorktags Crime/Violence, Law, Slavery

    The most infamous of slave traders, Captain Nathaniel Gordon was finally brought to justice, and the significance of that event was reported and commented on at length in the March 8, 1862 edition of Harper's Weekly summarizing from accounts in the Times and Herald. This was an important event because the international slave trade had been considered piracy but had...

  10. Reasons to Fight: Southern Nationalism
    date February 28, 1862map KERSHAW, South Carolinatags Politics, War

    "If you love your freedom-if you love your home-if you love your wife and children-if you love your God, strike, strike quick, strike hard," urged The Camden Confederate on February 28, 1862. This newspaper, published weekly in Camden, South Carolina, was full of pleas for Southern unity and attacks against the North. Like many Southern newspapers, The Camden Confederate tried...

  11. Confederacy Passes a Law Authorizing Wartime Property Destruction
    date March 6, 1862map HENRICO, Virginiatags Agriculture, War

    On March 6, 1862, in the House of Representatives of the Confederate Congress a bill was passed to prevent the capture of Confederate property by the Union. Specifically, the bill authorized the commanding generals of the Confederate Army to destroy cotton, tobacco and other agricultural products which may be liable to fall into the hands of the United States. During the hearings, inquiries of...

  12. The Battle at Pea Ridge
    date March 6, 1862 to March 8, 1862map BENTON, Arkansastags War

    Late in the day of March 6, 1862, Confederate troops led by General Earl Van Dorn positioned themselves on the north side of Pea Ridge, Arkansas ready to strike the surprised Federal forces. Commanded by General Samuel Curtis, the Federals, expecting a frontal attack from the south, quickly discovered the tactical move and swung around to oppose the Confederates. It was a terrible contest, as...

  13. Happy Times in Centerville Camp as the Confederate High Command Sing the South's Favorite Songs
    date January 12, 1862map ACCOMACK, Virginiatags Arts/Leisure, Song

    Confederate leader Robert E Lee once said, "I don't believe we can have an army without music," and reflecting this attitude, the high command of the Confederate forces joined in the jovial times of the 1862 Southern lifestyle. Observed by the future Brigadier General Moxley Sorrel, the then Captain and Chief-of-Staff to General Longstreet recounted a banquet put on by Longstreet and the many...

  14. Irish Brigade Holds Fast
    date January 11, 1862 to January 13, 1862map SPOTSYLVANIA, Virginiatags War, Thomas Meagher

    The Irish Brigade, under the command of General Thomas F. Meagher, displayed exceptional bravery at the battle of Fredericksburg. In an after- action battle report, Meagher commended the bravery of his men under a horrendous fire of artillery and aimed muskets while attempting to seize Mayre's Heights from its Confederate defenders in their breastworks. He stated they were "unbroken and...

  15. The Debut of the CSS Virginia
    date March 8, 1862 to March 9, 1862map NORFOLK, Virginiatags War

    On the days of March 8th and 9th, the Confederate Ironclad CSS Virginia [formerly the sunken USS Merrimack, which the Confederates had risen from the Norfolk Navy Yard ant rebuilt as an ironclad] sunk two wooden Union ships then battled the Union Ironclad USS Monitor to a draw. While first running down and sinking the USS Cumberland [a sailing ship], the Virginia then approached the frigate Congress,...

  16. Transforming Naval Warfare
    date March 8, 1862 to March 9, 1862map NORFOLK, Virginiatags Navy, Civil War, Science/Technology

    On March 8, 1862, the power of a new form of naval warfare made its appearance at Hampton Roads Bay, Virginia. The CSS Virginia (formerly the sunken USS Merrimack) appeared beside the Union fleet, showing her aggressive naval power with a never-seen-before "iron coating." With a front mounted cannon and an iron body, she destroyed two Union wooden ships, lowering Union morale....

  17. Sovereign Convention of South Carolina
    date January 9, 1862map RICHLAND, South Carolinatags War

    On January 9, 1862, the Sovereign Convention of the People of South Carolina met sitting in Columbia, South Carolina [the state capital] and enacted several highly important ordinances concerning the state. A first order was to strengthen the hands of the executive branch by the creation of a Council to whom [in conjunction with the Governor] plenary powers were entrusted. This new Council's...

  18. The Battle at Newbern
    date March 13, 1862 to March 14, 1862map CARTERET, North Carolinatags Economy, War

    After the Federal capture of Roanoke Island, General Burnside and his Union battalions, now totaling some 11,000 troops, moved on to the important established community of Newbern, North Carolina. The attack began on March 13, 1862, and worked its way right up the west bank of the Neuse River though much rain and muddy road. Driving back the Confederate forces of L. O'B. Branch, Burnside was...

  19. Call The Cavalry
    date November 1, 1861 to March 11, 1862map QUEENS, New Yorktags War

    A man sits astride a slick-coated war-horse at the forefront of battle. Uniform pressed, cap settled heavily atop his head of thick hair, hand wrapped around the hilt of his saber while his revolver sits at his hip, he demonstrates the epitome of order and ruthlessness on the battlefield. While a man on foot could be outfitted in the same manner as a cavalryman, he would never be able to compare...

  20. New Berne Is Taken by the Union
    date March 14, 1862 to March 15, 1862map CRAVEN, North Carolinatags War, Women

    The loss of New Berne was a distressing turn for the Confederacy. With the inner coastal position under Union control, a very tight blockade of North Carolina could be maintained by the North. This news was extremely devastating to the people of North Carolina, as they realized that their beloved state was starting to slip away from them. Eliza Oswald Hill heard reports of New Berne while she was...

  21. Paroled Southern Prisoners to Fight
    date March 18, 1862map HENRICO, Virginiatags War

    On March 18, 1862, a message was sent from President Jefferson Davis into a secret session of the Confederate Congress recommending that all prisoners who had been put on parole by the Union be released from the obligation of their parole, so as to bear arms for the Confederacy and fight for independence. The recommendation was urged in response to the North's infamous and reckless breach in...

  22. What Are You Fighting For?
    date January 1, 1862map FREDERICK, Virginiatags War

    The message was clear; those fighting for the Confederate Army were "destroy[ing] the government of [their] fathers." In an advertisement in 1862 in Winchester, Virginia, the government established by the "the patriot statesmen and warriors of the revolution" asked that the confederate soldiers "throw down [their] arms" and come rejoin the Union. The ad insisted that the "bad men" of the confederacy...

  23. CSA General Wreaks Havoc in Missouri Town
    date January 1, 1862map CHRISTIAN, Missouritags Sterling Price

    Dissent, the one word that is able to break apart any organization. One particular instance of dissent took place in 1862 in Springfield, Missouri. The citizens of Springfield became thoroughly displeased with the practices of the confederate soldiers in their town. These practices, undertaken by General Sterling Price of the Confederate Army, became the focusing point of controversy for the citizens...

  24. Expressions of Anger Toward Secrecy and Censorship in the Union
    date January 1, 1862map NEW YORK, New Yorktags Seceded States

    Censorship and secrecy became the motto of the Union Army in the beginning of 1862. By this point, the war had only been going on for one year and civilians already had begun to grow weary of its costs. Union citizens came to be weary of the issue surrounding government censorship of communication devices such as the newspapers and mail. One of the complaints concerning this matter appeared in

  25. West Augusta Guardsman Troubled by Enemy's Lack of Respect for Wounded Soldiers
    date March 25, 1862map SHENANDOAH, Virginiatags Wounded Soldiers, Battle, Shenandoah Valley

    Jedediah Hotchkiss wrote home to his wife, Sara Hotchkiss, on Tuesday, March 25, 1862 after a skirmish with the Union army, around Woodstock, Shenandoah County in Virginia. Hotchkiss had just received news that one of his children had passed away. He longed to be at home with his family, but said, "It is forbidden of me & it is now too late to reach you before the crisis has passed."...