Episodes Nearest to March 18, 1862: 1 through 25 of 25

  1. 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...

  2. 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...

  3. 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...

  4. 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."...

  5. 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,...

  6. 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....

  7. 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...

  8. 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...

  9. 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...

  10. The Conferderate Uniform was on fire!
    date April 5, 1862map FREDERICK, Virginiatags Confederate Army, Civil War

    The letters written from a Confederate soldier to his “Charming Nelly” tell the stories of a Confederate regiment throughout the Civil War.  Between 1862 and 1864, J.B. Polley, the Confederate soldier, wrote 28 different letters to the same person.  Curiously, “Charming Nelly” was someone who Polley had only met three times in his life and all three meetings were very brief.  Polley joined...

  11. The Battle of Shiloh
    date April 6, 1862 to April 7, 1862map GRAINGER, Tennesseetags War

    On April 6th and 7th, the Battle of Shiloh took place taking the lives of more men than in all previous American wars combined. Just off the banks of the Tennessee River, a Confederate surprise attack left General Ulysses S. Grant's troops unprepared with nightfall on the 6th having the federal troops on the verge of defeat. By the end of fighting in the area after the initial attack, there...

  12. Sherman Praises Soldiers of the Fifth Divison
    date April 6, 1862 to April 7, 1862map HARDIN, Tennesseetags 32nd Indiana Regiment, The Battle of Shiloh

    During the Battle of Shiloh, General William Tecumseh Sherman gained an appreciation for the bravery of his men. As seen in his after-action report, Confederates surprised the Fifth Division with their attack and Sherman's forces were driven far from their encampment. Though the army was in a panic, the retreat was ultimately halted and Sherman's men held their ground. The 32nd Indiana behaved...

  13. Shiloh: Col. Cyprus Hall, 14th Illionois Infantry.
    date April 6, 1862 to April 7, 1862map HARDIN, Tennesseetags Civil War, 1862, Shiloh, Pittsburgh Landing, Cyprus Hall, Union Army

    Colonel Hall’s experience in the Battle of Shiloh is unique from any common and popular knowledge of what actually took place during the battle. The general populations’ recognition of the battles in the west does not compare to their recognition of the battles in the east such as Gettysburg and Harpers Ferry. The reason is that the battles in the east took place in close proximity to some of...

  14. Shiloh: Col. Ralph P. Buckland, 72nd Ohio Infantry.
    date April 6, 1862 to April 7, 1862map HARDIN, Tennesseetags Ralph P. Buckland, Pittsburgh Landing, 1862, Shiloh, Civil War

    Colonel Buckland’s experience in the battle of Shiloh is unique from any popular knowledge of the battle. The general populations’ recognition of the battles in the west, concentrating on Shiloh in particular, does not equate to their recognition of the battles in the east such as Gettysburg and Harpers Ferry. The reason is that the battles in the east took place in close proximity to some of...

  15. Col. John C. Moore's report of The Battle of Shiloh
    date April 6, 1862 to April 7, 1862map HARDIN, Tennesseetags The Battle of Shiloh, Civil War

    “In justice to my regiment, permit me to say that no other regiment entered the fight on that day under more unfavorable circumstances than the Second Texas.” Colonel John C. Moore included this in the beginning of his report on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh. Tired, hungry, and lacking supplies, the Second Texas Infantry left Texas, met with the rest of the Army of Mississippi and then...

  16. J.J Anderson's report on the battle of Shiloh
    date April 6, 1862 to April 7, 1862map SHELBY, Tennesseetags battle of shiloh, loyalty

      Texts about the Civil War will often discuss in great lengths about the heroic deeds and bravery of the soldiers who fought. These men were often revered for their dedication to the army and to their country. Jabez J Anderson was a thirty eight year old farmer from Middleton, Illinois, who had to take control of his regiment during the first day of battle when two of his superiors were severely...

  17. Captain Robert H. Sturgess's report of the Battle of Shiloh
    date April 6, 1862 to April 7, 1862map HARDIN, Tennesseetags battle of shiloh, Battle of Pittsburg

    In the early hours of the morning of April 6, 1862, the Eighth Regiment Illinois Volunteers heard shots fired near the Union battle lines. These shots signified the beginning of a bloody, two-day battle known as the Battle of Shiloh. The battle of Shiloh occurred on April 6th and 7th of 1862 in Shiloh, Tennessee. During those two days of fighting, the causality count was higher than it was in the...

  18. Adolph Engelmann's report of the Battle of Shiloh
    date April 6, 1862 to April 7, 1862map SHELBY, Tennesseetags The Battle of Shiloh, Medicine

    In Adolph Engelmann's report on the battle of Shiloh, he discusses the different obstacles and hardships that the forty third regiment had to endure during this "bloody battle". Within his regiment, a report stated that seventy five enlisted were either killed or mortally wounded while one hundred and sixty one of the soldiers died either of disease or accident. Although significant, these...

  19. Shiloh As Witnessed by the Sixth Iowa Regiment
    date April 6, 1862 to April 10, 1862map HARDIN, Tennesseetags battle of shiloh, Sixth Iowa Infantry

    Similar to the soldiers of the Army of the Mississippi, the recruits of the Sixth Iowa Regiment in Grant’s Army of the Tennessee found warfare during the battle of Shiloh to be far more intense than any of their previous combat experiences. Mustered on July 17, 1861, the Sixth Iowa Infantry Regiment participated in the expeditions to Springfield and Crump’s Landing along the Tennessee River...

  20. Raw Meat: The Nineteenth Louisiana Regiment at Shiloh
    date April 6, 1862 to April 10, 1862map HARDIN, Tennesseetags Nineteenth Louisiana, battle of shiloh

    The experiences during the first day of combat at Shiloh were a display of a new level of brutality encountered in American warfare, with no unit better exhibiting this change than the Nineteenth Louisiana Regiment. A regiment of the First Brigade under Colonel Gibson in the Army of the Mississippi and led by Colonel B.L. Hodge, the Nineteenth Louisiana entered combat on the Sunday of April 6, 1862...

  21. Turning the Tide: Col. Samuel Beatty's experience at Shiloh
    date April 9, 1862map HARDIN, Tennesseetags The Battle of Shiloh, Civil War

    Reversing momentum is a crucial element that is necessary for success, whether on a football field or a field of battle. Often, however, those involved in these critical moments do not realize their own significance. On April 9, 1862, Colonel Samuel Beatty, of the Nineteenth Ohio Infantry submitted a report which detailed the actions of his regiment during the Battle of Shiloh two days earlier....

  22. Confederate Disorganization Leads to Chaos at Shiloh
    date April 6, 1862 to April 14, 1862map HARDIN, Tennesseetags Civil War, The Battle of Shiloh

    During the battle of Shiloh, Colonel Issac L. Dunlop discovered that even the clearest laid plans and troop organization can be turned into complete chaos after the start of battle.  According to the Official Reports of the battle, Colonel Isaac L. Dunlop and his Ninth Arkansas Infantry are clearly put under the command of Brigadier General J.C. Breckinridge in the Reserve Corps, to the east of...

  23. 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...

  24. Beaufort's Change of HeartBeaufort's Change of Heart
    date March, 1862 to May, 1862map CARTERET, North Carolinatags War

    In March of 1862, a northern soldier stepped on board the steamer Union to accompany it on its journey down South to attempt to take the Confederate locations of Beaufort and Fort Macon. Once the ship landed on the North Carolina coast, the soldier disembarked and continued the voyage on foot with several other men. They were headed twenty miles north towards the city of Morehead City, North Carolina,...

  25. Fleeing Louisiana on a Steamboat
    date April, 1862map LAFOURCHE, Louisianatags African-Americans, Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations, Slavery, War

    In the middle of the night Richard, the Fearn's son, awoke his parents to tell them that New Orleans had fallen to the Yankees. During breakfast this unsettling news was reinforced as a man rode by the Fearn home yelling, The Yankees are coming It was clear to the Fearns that they had to leave their home as soon as possible. In the panic to depart, Mrs. Fearn was too distraught. She could barely...