Civil War events of note on this date.

[william42]

Kansas enters the Union

Kansas is admitted to the Union as free state. It was the 34th state to enter the Union. The struggle between pro- and anti-slave forces in Kansas was a major factor in the eruption of the Civil War.

In 1854, Kansas and Nebraska were organized as territories with popular sovereignty (popular vote) to decide the issue of slavery. There was really no debate over the issue in Nebraska, as the territory was filled with settlers from the Midwest, where there was no slavery. In Kansas, the situation was much different. Although most of the settlers were anti-slave or abolitionists, there were many pro-slave Missourians lurking just over the border. When residents in the territory voted on the issue, many fraudulent votes were cast from Missouri. This triggered the massive violence that earned the area the name "Bleeding Kansas." Both sides committed atrocities, and the fighting over the issue of slavery was a preview of the Civil War.

Kansas remained one of the most important political questions throughout the 1850s. Each side drafted constitutions, but the anti-slave faction eventually gained the upper hand. Kansas entered the Union as a free state, but the conflict continued in Kansas into the Civil War. The state was the scene of some of the most brutal acts of violence during the war. One extreme example was the sacking of Lawrence in 1863, when pro-slave forces murdered nearly 200 men and burned the anti-slave town.

[william42]

House passes the 13th Amendment

The U.S. House of Representatives passes the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States. It read, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude...shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

When the Civil War began, President Lincoln's professed goal was the restoration of the Union. But early in the war, the Union began keeping escaped slaves rather than returning them to their owners, so slavery essentially ended wherever the Union army was victorious. In September 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in areas that were still in rebellion against the Union. This measure opened the issue of what to do about slavery in border states that had not seceded or in areas that had been captured by the Union before the proclamation.

In 1864, an amendment abolishing slavery passed the Senate but died in the House as Democrats rallied in the name of states' rights. The election of 1864 brought Lincoln back to the White House and significant Republican majorities in both houses, so it appeared the amendment was headed for passage when the new Congress convened in March 1865. Lincoln preferred that the amendment receive bipartisan support--some Democrats indicated support for the measure, but many still resisted. The amendment passed 119 to 56, seven votes above the necessary two-thirds majority. Several Democrats abstained, but the 13th Amendment was sent to the states for ratification, which came in December 1865. With the passage of the amendment, the institution that had indelibly shaped American history and had started the Civil War was eradicated.

[william42]

Texas secedes

Texas becomes the seventh state to secede from the Union when a state convention votes 166 to 8 in favor of the measure.
The Texans who voted to leave the Union did so over the objections of their governor, Sam Houston. The hero of the Texas War for Independence was in his third term as the state's chief executive; a staunch Unionist, his election seemed to indicate that Texas did not share the rising secessionist sentiments of the other southern states.

But events in the year following Houston's election swayed many Texans to the secessionist cause. John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859 raised the specter of a massive slave insurrection, and the ascendant Republican Party made many Texans uneasy about continuing in the Union. After Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency, pressure mounted on Houston to call a convention so that Texas could consider secession. He did so reluctantly in January, and he sat in silence on February 1 as the convention voted overwhelmingly in favor of secession. Houston grumbled that Texans were "stilling the voice of reason," and he predicted an "ignoble defeat" for the South.

Texas' move completed the first round of secession. Seven states--South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas--left the Union before Lincoln took office. Four states--Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas-- waited until the formal start of the war with the firing on Ft. Sumter at Charleston, South Carolina, before deciding to leave the Union. The remaining slave states--Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri--never mustered the necessary majority for secession.

[william42]

Albert Sidney Johnston born

Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston is born in Washington, Kentucky. Johnston was considered one of the best Confederate commanders until he was killed at Shiloh, the first major engagement in the west.


Johnston grew up in Kentucky and received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy in 1822. While there, he became acquainted with Robert E. Lee and future Confederate President Jefferson Davis, two men who shaped Johnston's career. After graduation, Johnston served in the Black Hawk War of 1832 and resigned from the service in 1834 to care for his invalid wife. After her death, he moved to the new Republic of Texas and enlisted in the army as a private. Within three years he rose to general of the army, then Secretary of War for his adopted country. After Texas was annexed by the United States, Johnston served in the Mexican War and was commended for bravery at the Battle of Monterrey.


Johnston retired to his Texas plantation after the war, but he struggled financially. He returned to the service as paymaster for the forts in Texas, and in 1857 was appointed to lead an expedition against members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormons) in Utah Territory. The Mormons disagreed with the government on issues of the territory's governance, and some officials thought a rebellion was in the making. Johnston arrived and found no opposition, and he spent the next three years occupying the territory.


When the Civil War erupted, Davis appointed Johnston commander of the Confederate department that stretched from the Appalachians to Texas. On April 6, 1862, Johnston attacked General Ulysses S. Grant's army at Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee (Shiloh). The Confederates enjoyed great success initially. Grant's army was surprised and nearly destroyed until the afternoon, when Johnston rode forward to supervise the battle. He was mortally wounded, and the tide turned against the Confederates. The armies struggled into the next day but the Union held the field.


Johnston and Union General James McPherson were the only two army commanders killed in action during the Civil War. Johnston's death left a void in the leadership of the western armies that was never effectively filled.

[larry_cockerham]

That line above about "the only two army commanders killed in action during the war" somehow sounds a bit strange? Stonewall Jackson, Leonidas Polk and Patrick Cleburne come to mind. I'll bet 'we' killed a yankee or two as well. (I know, Jackson lived a couple of weeks and Polk was hit by cannon fire while looking at the scenery.) Cleburne and four others were in the midst of the battle for Franklin, however.

[william42]

This Day in History 1803: Albert Sidney Johnston born

Larry, I'm not sure what that means. I know at least one person is reading these, though.



Terry

[william42]

Hampton Roads Conference

President Lincoln meets with a delegation of Confederate officials to discuss a possible peace agreement. Lincoln refuses to grant the delegation any concessions, and the president departs for the north.

New York Tribune editor and abolitionist Horace Greeley provided the impetus for the conference when he contacted Francis Blair, a Maryland aristocrat and presidential adviser. Greeley suggested that Blair was the "right man" to open discussions with the Confederates to end the war. Blair sought permission from Lincoln to meet with Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and he did so twice in January 1865. Blair suggested to Davis that an armistice be forged and the two sides turn their attention to removing the French-supported regime of Maximilian in Mexico. This plan would help cool tensions between North and South by providing a common enemy, he believed.

Meanwhile, the situation was becoming progressively worse for the Confederates in the winter of 1864 and 1865. In January, Union troops captured Fort Fisher and effectively closed Wilmington, North Carolina, the last major port open to blockade runners. Davis conferred with his vice president, Alexander Stephens, and Stephens recommended that a peace commission be appointed to explore a possible armistice. Davis sent Stephens and two others to meet with Lincoln at Hampton Roads, Virginia.

The meeting convened on February 3. Stephens asked if there was any way to stop the war and Lincoln replied that the only way was "for those who were resisting the laws of the Union to cease that resistance." The delegation underestimated Lincoln's resolve to make the end of slavery a necessary condition for any peace. The president also insisted on immediate reunification and the laying down of Confederate arms before anything else was discussed. In short, the Union was in such an advantageous position that Lincoln did not need to concede any issues to the Confederates. Robert M.T. Hunter, one of the delegation, commented that Lincoln was offering little except the unconditional surrender of the South.

After less than five hours, the conference ended and the delegation left with no concessions. The war continued for more than two months.

[ole]

The key is "army" commander. Reynolds and Jackson et alii were Corps commanders. A.S. Johnston was in command of whatever the Confederate Army was called at that time. McPherson was what, Army of the Ohio? Or Cumberland?

ole

[larry_cockerham]

Originally Posted by ole

The key is "army" commander. Reynolds and Jackson et alii were Corps commanders. A.S. Johnston was in command of whatever the Confederate Army was called at that time. McPherson was what, Army of the Ohio? Or Cumberland?

ole

Ole, as usual, I believe you are paying attention and probably accurately so. I missed the distinction in my hasty read. Albert Sidney Johnston was indeed commander of the Army of the Mississippi (or whatever it was called).

As for the account of Lincoln's peace conference, the politician and perhaps a bit of ego were showing on his part? He could have saved several thousand lives with a little more 'flexibility'.

[william42]

by Larry Cockerham
As for the account of Lincoln's peace conference, the politician and perhaps a bit of ego were showing on his part? He could have saved several thousand lives with a little more 'flexibility'.

Lincoln replied that the only way was "for those who were resisting the laws of the Union to cease that resistance." The delegation underestimated Lincoln's resolve to make the end of slavery a necessary condition for any peace. The president also insisted on immediate reunification and the laying down of Confederate arms before anything else was discussed. In short, the Union was in such an advantageous position that Lincoln did not need to concede any issues to the Confederates. Robert M.T. Hunter, one of the delegation, commented that Lincoln was offering little except the unconditional surrender of the South.

Larry, I don't know how Lincoln could have been more flexible here. He said the rebellion must cease immediately, with the reunification of the country as soon as possible. I don't think that's unreasonable. After issuing the Emancipation Proclamation how could he back-track on that after hundreds of thousands of slaves had already been given their freedom by this time, and the country, as well as foreign countries were waiting to see if his promise of freedom to the slaves would be upheld. Lincoln had every right to expect those conditions to be fulfilled, and I'm amazed, considering the staggering human cost of the war, that he didn't demand that all leaders of the rebellion turn themselves in or be hunted down and arrested for starting the insurrection in the first place. In that regard I'd say he was fairly lenient and flexible. Of course this is just my opinion, and open to challenge as I'm sure it will be.

Just a note concerning my other post. I believe McPherson was commander of the Army of the Tennessee, given that command on March 12, 1864, when he was killed.


Terry