May 19, 2012

May 19, 1862:  President Lincoln rescinds Gen. David Hunter’s Order No. 11, freeing of the slaves in his district in coastal South Carolina, along with Hunter’s military draft provision.  It seems that the freed slaves did not want to join the army, and they were being hauled off from their homes to be put in the regiment.  So Hunter found himself in the embarrassing position of sending Union troops out into the countryside to hunt down slaves to force them to be free by drafting them into the army.  An interesting side-effect from this comedy of errors: when Sec. of War Stanton requested more regiments from Massachusetts, Gov. John Andrew answered that since Gen. Hunter was forming black regiments, then a precedent was set.  Andrew secured Stanton’s begrudging assent (even though Hunter’s move was being revoked), and Andrew began to form the famous 54^th and 55^th Mass. Inf regiments, made up of black troops.

---In the Valley, Gen. Stonewall Jackson takes Gen. Ewell’s division formally under his command, and plans to continue his campaign north down the Valley, to attack Gen. Banks and his Federal troops, recently weakened by his sending part of his force to reinforce McClellan.