01/02, January 2nd In Civil War History

Jimklag

Lt. Colonel
Joined
Mar 3, 2017
Location
Chicagoland
OnThisDay.png
This date in Civil War history
Compiled by Mitchell Werksman and Jim Klag.

January 2, 1831 - "Liberator", abolitionist newspaper, begins publication in Boston.

January 2, 1835 - Charles Russell Lowell Jr, American railroad executive and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Boston, Massachusetts. (d. 1864)

January 2, 1854 - The bill that would become the Kansas-Nebraska Act is printed for the first time.

January 2, 1860 - The Louisiana State Seminary of Higher Learning is established at Pineville. William Tecumseh Sherman is Superintendent. It later becomes LSU.

January 2, 1861 - President James Buchanan refuses to receive a letter from the South Carolina Commissioners, who, wanting to reach an agreeable solution, inform the President of the situation of Major Robert Anderson's' USA, men at Fort Sumter, SC, and of their unprotected position. This letter prompts the United States Government to order reinforcements for Fort Sumter, SC.

January 2, 1861 - Fort Johnson, Charleston Harbor, SC, which has been evacuated by the US troops and stands empty, is seized by the South Carolina state troops.

January 2, 1861 - The US Government orders that the naval vessel, the USS Brooklyn, stationed at Norfolk, VA, be readied for the possible aid of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, SC.

January 2, 1861 - Charles Pomeroy Stone, Inspector General, USA, is placed in charge of securing the safety of the nation's capital, Washington, DC.

January 2, 1862 - The Honorable William G. Brownlow, accused of treason, states his case to President Jefferson Davis, and asks leave to withdraw from the Confederacy.

January 2, 1863 - Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone's River) ends.

January 2, 1863 - James Murrell Schackleford, USA, is appointed Brig. Gen.
Skirmish at White Spring, Boston Mountains, AR, with Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke, CSA.

January 2, 1863 - Union forces, under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, USA, re-embark and proceed to Milliken's Bend, LA, giving up in their attempt on Vicksburg, MS. (Jan 2-3)

January 2, 1863 - New Madrid, MO, is reoccupied by the Union forces.

January 2, 1863 - Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's, CSA, Cavalry re-crosses the Tennessee River at Clifton, TN.

January 2, 1863 - Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan's, CSA, Cavalry re-crosses the Cumberland River, TN.

January 2, 1863 - Skirmish between Fort Donelson and Fort Henry, TN, with an attack by Spaulding's Confederate guerrillas with Spaulding being killed.

The 2nd day of fighting at Murfreesboro, or Stone's River, TN, sees Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge, CSA, repulsed by Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans, USA, with total combined casualties of about 24,500.

January 2, 1863 - Brig. Gen. Roger Weightman Hanson, CSA, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Murfreesboro, TN, while leading his men in a charge, dying two days later.

January 2, 1863 - Skirmish at Jonesville, Lee County, VA.

January 2, 1863 - Brig. Gen. James S. Wadsworth, USA, is temporarily in command of the 1st US Army Corps, the Army of the Potomac, VA.

January 2, 1863 - Skirmish at Bath Springs, WV.

January 2, 1863 - Federal expedition to Moorefield and Petersburg, WV. (Jan 2-5)

January 2, 1864 - The Confederate Congress confirms George Davis's (no relation) appointment to Attorney-General.

January 2, 1864 - The siege of Petersburg is ongoing.

January 2, 1864 - The Federal occupation of Santa Catalina Island, off Los Angeles, CA.

January 2, 1864 - Skirmish at La Grange, TN.

January 2, 1865 - Engagement at Franklin, MS, with Confederates along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, as Brig. Gen. Benjamin H. Grierson's latest Federal expedition moves on.

January 2, 1865 - Skirmish at Lexington, MS, with Brig. Gen. Benjamin H. Grierson, USA.

January 2, 1865 - Federal scout for bushwhackers in Shannon County, MO, with excursions to Jack's Ford, Birch Prairie and within 8 miles of Thomasville. The Yankees report the whole county is full of bushwhackers as the notorious guerrilla, Freeman, disbanded his whole army until spring. While the Federals were down in Shannon County, the guerrillas were active in Texas County in the neighborhood of Rolla, MO, robbing several families of everything they had. (Jan 2-7)

January 2, 1865 - Federal scout from Fort Wingate to Sierra del Datil, the New Mexico Territory, as they followed the trail of Indians who stole a number of sheep from people residing near the post. After forced Marches in severe snow-storms, the Yankees give up trying to catch the thieves. The Union men living on boiled wheat for 3 days. (Jan 2-10)

January 2, 1865 - Federal scout from Benvard's Mills to South Quay, VA, on the Blackwater.

January 2, 1865 - Bvt. Maj. Gen. Samuel W. Crawford, USA, is placed in temporary command of the 5th US Army Corps, the Richmond, VA, Campaign.

January 2, 1865 - Brig. Gen. Charles Devens, USA, is placed in temporary command of the 24th US Army Corps, the Richmond, VA, Campaign.

January 2, 1904 - James Longstreet, Confederate Lieutenant-General, dies at 82 in Gainesville, GA.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
January 2, 1854 - The bill that would become the Kansas-Nebraska Act is printed for the first time.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/Kansas-Nebraska_Act
January 2, 1861 - President James Buchanan refuses to receive a letter from the South Carolina Commissioners, who, wanting to reach an agreeable solution, inform the President of the situation of Major Robert Anderson's' USA, men at Fort Sumter, SC, and of their unprotected position. This letter prompts the United States Government to order reinforcements for Fort Sumter, SC.
https://digital.scetv.org/teachingAmerhistory/ttrove/CommissionerstoBuchanan.html
 
General Stone had an interesting story - supposedly the first man enlisted into what would become the Union Army and one of the first that would tangle with Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton when he was arrested on February 8, 1862 for disloyalty and treason. According to the book “Lincoln’s Autocrat” - it would take an Act of Congress to secure his release from prison, (page 155).
 
January 2, 1863 - Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone's River) ends.
And a brutal day it was. Read No Better Place To Die by Peter Cozzens last year in preparation for a visit to Mufreesboro and Stones River NMP in June 2017. Attacking Confederates got torn up by massed Union artillery.
 
Back
Top