May 17, 1862

May 17, 1862: Flag Officer David Farragut has steamed upriver with his fleet and captured Natchez, Mississippi, and continued up to Vicksburg.

—At Galveston, Texas, Captain Henry Eagle, commanding the U.S. flotilla off the coast, sends onshore a demand for the surrender of the city of Galveston and its military stores and fortifications. Gen. Hebert of the Confederate Army sends back a reply to the effect that they would like to see the Yankees try to take the city if they can.

—Sarah Morgan of Baton Rouge writes of her anxieties in her diary:
Four days ago the Yankees left us, to attack Vicksburg, leaving their flag flying in the Garrison without a man to guard it, and with the understanding that the town would be held responsible for it. It was intended for a trap; and it succeeded. For night before last, it was pulled down and torn to pieces.
Now, unless Will will have the kindness to sink a dozen of their ships up there, — I hear he has command of the lower batteries, — they will be back in a few days, and will execute their threat of shelling the town. If they do, what will become of us? All we expect in the way of earthly property is as yet mere paper, which will be so much trash if the South is ruined, as it consists of debts due father by many planters for professional services rendered, who, of course, will be ruined, too, so all money is gone. That is nothing, we will not be ashamed to earn our bread, so let it go. . . .
A new proclamation from Butler has just come. It seems that the ladies have an ugly way of gathering their skirts when the Federals pass, to avoid any possible contact. Some even turn up their noses. Unladylike, to say the least. But it is, maybe, owing to the odor they have, which is said to be unbearable even at this early season of the year. Butler says, whereas the so-called ladies of New Orleans insult his men and officers, he gives one and all permission to insult any or all who so treat them, then and there, with the assurance that the women will not receive the slightest protection from the Government, and that the men will all be justified. . . . Come to my bosom, O my discarded carving-knife, laid aside under the impression that these men were gentlemen. We will be close friends once more. And if you must have a sheath, perhaps I may find one for you in the heart of the first man who attempts to Butlerize me. I never dreamed of kissing any man save my father and brothers. And why any one should care to kiss any one else, I fail to understand. And I do not propose to learn to make exceptions.

Sarah Morgan

—Surgeon Alfred L. Castleman, of the Army of the Potomac, records his frustration with how slow McClellan’s troops are moving up the Peninsula:

17th.—But little worthy of note to-day, except the increasing impatience of the army. They begin to complain of the Commander in Chief, and, I fear, with some ground of justice. This morning the whole plain of 80,000 men, with its five hundred wagons, ambulances and carts, its five thousand horses, and all the paraphenalia of the army, was ordered to be ready to move at 12 M., precisely. At 11 we ate our dinners; then came the details of men for loading the heavy boxes and chests, striking, rolling and loading tents, which, by hard work, was accomplished by the hour fixed, and noon found us all in column; the word "march" was given, and off we started; moved about fifteen rods, wheeled (teams and all) out of the road into a beautiful field of wheat; wheeled again, and in a few minutes found ourselves right where we started from, with orders to unload and pitch tents. A few regimental groans went up as complimentary of the movement, and in two hours we were again settled. The object of this movement is now known to me, and so small and contemptible was it, so mixed up with the gratification of a petty vindictiveness, that, for the honor of the army, and some of its sub-commanders, I leave it unrecorded, hoping to forget it.

May 16, 1862

May 16, 1862: Eastern Theater, Shendoah Valley Campaign - Gen. Lee sends orders to Stonewall Jackson and the Army of the Valley to incorporate Ewell’s division under his command and to advance north to engage Gen. Banks’ Union forces near Strasburg. There is evidence that Banks is planning to send troops east to assist McClellan, and Lee wants to be sure that McClellan–who is knocking at Richmond’s door–does not get reinforced.

—In New Orleans, Gen. Butler, in command of the occupying U.S. forces, orders that Confederate money will no longer be used as a medium of exchange. Butler also orders the New Orleans Bee to be closed down, as a newspaper loyal to the enemy, and the New Orleans Delta to be taken over by the Federal government.

—Katherine Prescott Wormeley, a Union woman volunteering as a nurse at an Army hospital down in Virginia, relates in her journal an incident that happened while she was caring for wounded men all laid out on the deck of a ship heading to Washington:

Getting them all washed, as I say, is a droll piece of work. Some are indifferent to the absurd luxury of soap and water, and some are so fussy. Some poor faces we must wash ourselves, and that softly and slowly. I started along each row with two tin basins and two bits of soap, my arm being the towel-horse. Now, you are not to suppose that each man had a basinful of clean water all to himself. However, I thought three to a basin was enough, or four, if they did n’t wash too hard. But an old corporal taught me better. "Stop, marm!" said he, as I was turning back with the dirty water to get fresh; "that water will do for several of us yet. Bless you! I make my coffee of worse than that."

—Josiah Marshall Favill, a young Union officer at Port Royal, South Carolina, remark in his journal a humorous anecdote on the local insect life:

In the meantime, we have been occupying ourselves in the study of natural history, particularly with the pine tick, an insect abounding in these parts; it has a spiral proboscis by which it screws itself fast to the fleshy part of one’s body, without attracting attention or causing any pain, and then quietly proceeds to gorge itself with blood, until it swells to the size of a large coffee berry, and looks almost exactly like one in color and shape. It is at this stage that you begin to feel an itching, and looking for the cause, find half a dozen or more of these ugly black-looking berries sticking on your legs; naturally, you yank them off without hesitancy, but are astonished to find the itching increases, and the inflammation and swelling continues spreading. Upon a close inspection, one finds that on pulling the creature off, his proboscis was left behind, imbedded deeply in the flesh, and this is the cause, or seems to be, of all the trouble. The remedy is to boldly cut out the offending head; there is, however, a scientific method of removing them, when first discovered, and that is, simply to unscrew them; seizing them carefully between the thumb and forefinger, you gently turn to the left, and are surprised to find they come out easily, and completely, exactly like a screw.

May 15, 1862

May 15, 1862: Eastern Theater, Peninsula Campaign - THE BATTLE OF DREWRY’S BLUFF, Virginia. (Naval action) After the scuttling of the CSS Virginia, the heavy guns and naval gunners from that ship are transferred to Fort Darling at Drewry’s Bluff on the James River, a place where the river narrows and makes a dog-leg turn. Nearer the waterline, trenches and rifle pits are built to hold sharpshooters. Anchored at the crook in the bend was the CSS Patrick Henry, armed with heavy guns. These defenses have been also bolstered by Brig. Gen. William Mahone and his army brigade, plus a large contingent of C.S. Marines. The fortifications are all commanded by CSN officer Commander Ebenezer Ferrand. On this date, a Federal flotilla under the command of Commander John Rodgers steams up the James River to bombard the shore defenses at a narrow bend topped by Fort Darling and other fortifications on the bluffs, in order to open the way to Richmond. Included in the Federal flotilla were the USS Galena, Monitor, Naugatuck, Aroostook, and Port Royal, the latter three being wooden vessels. The Galena drops anchor in an exposed position and begins pounding the Rebel positions with her guns. 

USS Galena, somewhat battered after the battle.

The Monitor attempts to assist, but finds that she cannot elevate her guns high enough to hit the Confederate gun emplacements on the bluff, so she drops downstream and fires from long range. Rodgers soon discovers that the Galena’s armor is not shot-proof from the plunging fire of the Confederate guns. The Patrick Henry sends an 8-inch shot through Galena’s bow, and shots from above pierce the armor and cause many casualties under decks. During the fighting, U.S. Marines on the ships keep up a steady fire on the sharpshooters ashore. 

U.S. Marines on the Galena firing on Rebel sharpshooters on shore.

However—Galena is hit 44 times, and 18 of those pierce her hull. The badly battered Union Navy drops downstream in defeat.

Confederate Victory.

Confederate gun emplacement at Drewry's Bluff

—John Beauchamp Jones of the C.S. War Department in Richmond notes the battle in his journal:
Our marksmen will keep up an incessant fire into the port-holes of the gun-boats; and if it be at all practicable, we will board them. So hope is by no means extinct. But it is apprehended, if the enemy get within shelling distance of the city, there will be an attack along our lines by McClellan. We must beat him there, as we could never save our guns, stores, etc. retreating across the river. And we will beat him, for we have 80,000 men, and more are coming.

Joyful tidings! the gun-boats have been repulsed! A heavy shot from one of our batteries ranged through the Galena from stem to stern, making frightful slaughter, and disabling the ship; and the whole fleet turned about and steamed down the river! We have not lost a dozen men. We breathe freely; and the government will lose no time in completing the obstructions and strengthening the batteries.
　
—The continued insults and abuse of Federal officers and troops by the women of New Orleans culminate in a lady dumping the contents of her chamber pot on the head of Admiral Farragut as he walked by. In response, Gen. Butler issues the infamous "woman order":

GENERAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, No. 28.
New Orleans, May 15, 1862.
As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insults from the woman (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall by word, gesture, or movement insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation.
By command of Major-General Butler:

—Kate S. Carney, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in her diary gives some brief vignettes of life in Union-occupied Tennessee, including this one:
Three Yanks were passing by trying to get some flowers from over the fence, when Ma went out and gave them some & they came in the house, & Pa treated them. Bettie & I were upstairs in the hall, and was much amused at what they had to say, as we could hear their conversation from below. Two of the scamps came again tonight to call on Pa.

—Surgeon Alfred L. Castleman, with the Army of the Potomac on the James Peninsula, writes in his journal about the soldiers’ impatience at the delay’s in McClellans’ campaign:
15th.—A raw unpleasant day. Hard rain, with east wind. We do not march, and in consequence of the heavy rain we may be compelled to remain here several days. The enemy is in force on the Chickahominy, and the two armies are gathering their hosts within ten or fifteen miles of each other, probably for a final struggle. The crisis approaches, and how the army pants for the time when they are to try conclusions! It was much worn out by the long delay at Camp Griffin. The detention at Warwick Creek was by no means refreshing, and now they naturally feel that every day’s delay is irksome.

—George Templeton Strong, a New York lawyer and a governing member of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, while on a visit to Washington, records in his journal some of his frustrations at the political delays in effecting true medical reform in the Army:

After dinner came in [Dr. Samuel] Bellows fresh from a row with the Secretary of War about appointments under the Medical Reform Bill, in which Stanton was petulant and insolent and then emollient and apologetic. Bellows thinks he has some cerebral disease.

May 14, 1862

May 14, 1862:  Judith White McGuire, of Richmond, writes in her diary:

May 14.—The anxiety of all classes for the safety of Richmond is now intense, though a strong faith in the goodness of God and the valour of our troops keeps us calm and hopeful. A gentleman, high in position, panic-struck, was heard to exclaim, yesterday: “Norfolk has fallen, Richmond will fall, Virginia is to be given up, and to-morrow I shall leave this city, an exile and a beggar.” Others are equally despondent, and, as is too frequently the case in times of trouble, attribute all our disasters to the incompetency and faithlessness of those entrusted with the administration of public affairs. Even General Lee does not escape animadversion, and the President is the subject of the most bitter maledictions. I have been shocked to hear that a counter-revolution, if not openly advocated, has been distinctly foreshadowed, as the only remedy for our ills.

—John Beauchamp Jones, a clerk in the C.S. War Department, writes in his journal:

MAY 14TH.—Our army has fallen back to within four miles of Richmond. Much anxiety is felt for the fate of the city. Is there no turning point in this long lane of downward progress? Truly it may be said, our affairs at this moment are in a critical condition. I trust in God, and the chivalry and patriotism of the South in the field.

—Sarah Morgan of Baton Rouge considers her mixed feelings about the Yankees, the Southern cause, and the war in her diary:

So yesterday the town was in a ferment because it was reported the Federal officers had called on the Miss Morgans, and all the gentlemen were anxious to hear how they had been received. One had the grace to say, “If they did, they received the best lesson there that they could get in town; those young ladies would meet them with the true Southern spirit.” The rest did not know; they would like to find out.

I suppose the story originated from the fact that we were unwilling to blackguard — yes, that is the word — the Federal officers here, and would not agree with many of our friends in saying they were liars, thieves, murderers, scoundrels, the scum of the earth, etc. Such epithets are unworthy of ladies, I say, and do harm, rather than advance our cause. Let them be what they will, it shall not make me less the lady; I say it is unworthy of anything except low newspaper war, such abuse, and I will not join in.

I have a brother-in-law in the Federal army whom I love and respect as much as any one in the world, and shall not readily agree that his being a Northerner would give him an irresistible desire to pick my pockets, and take from him all power of telling the truth. No! There are few men I admire more than Major Drum, and I honor him for his independence in doing what he believes right. Let us have liberty of speech and action in our land, I say, but not gross abuse and calumny. . . . These women may acknowledge that cowards have won battles in which their brothers were engaged, but I, I will ever say mine fought against brave men, and won the day. Which is most honorable?

I was never a Secessionist, for I quietly adopted father’s views on political subjects without meddling with them. But even father went over with his State, and when so many outrages were committed by the fanatical leaders of the North, though he regretted the Union, said, “Fight to the death for our liberty.” I say so, too. I want to fight until we win the cause so many have died for. I don’t believe in Secession, but I do in Liberty. I want the South to conquer, dictate its own terms, and go back to the Union, for I believe that, apart, inevitable ruin awaits both. It is a rope of sand, this Confederacy, founded on the doctrine of Secession, and will not last many years — not five. . . . The North will find herself burdened with an unparalleled debt, with nothing to show for it except deserted towns, burning homes, a standing army which will govern with no small caprice, and an impoverished land.

If that be treason, make the best of it!

May 13, 1862

May 13, 1862: Charleston, South Carolina - The C.S.S. Planter Caper: On this date, Robert Smalls, a slave who is also a trained and licensed harbor pilot in Charleston Harbor, decides to escape bondage along with a number of his friends and their families. The CSS Planter, a speedy, shallow-draft steamer, had been appropriated by the Confederate Navy and equipped with two swivel guns and used for transport duties around the intercoastal waterways near Charleston. A contingent of white officers and eight slaves were her crew. 

C.S.S. Planter

Smalls is the ship’s quartermaster and chief helmsman. On the evening of May 12, the ship’s captain ties her up at the South Wharf at Charleston, and he, the mate, and the engineer go ashore to spend the night. After Smalls and some of his shipmates pick up their wives and children at another wharf, they steam into the night, blasting the steam whistle signals at the appropriate intervals as they pass Ft. Johnson, then Ft. Sumter, and then past Ft. Wagner at the mouth of the harbor, and Rebel signalmen begin to suspect something is wrong. Smalls pilots the Planter toward the USS Onward, with a white flag at the fore. Lt. Nickels of the Onward comes on board and hoists the U.S. colors on the Rebel vessel. Smalls and the Planter, supplemented by a small prize crew from the USS Augusta, steams to Port Royal and reports to Commodore John Dahlgren, who praises Smalls’ enterprise—and praises Smalls as "superior to any who has yet come into the lines, intelligent as many of them have been." Du Pont even insist that Smalls "continue to employ Robert as a pilot on board the Planter for the inland waters, with which he appears to be very familiar." Smalls is commissioned as Master’s Mate, a warrant officer rank, and eventually is made Captain of the Planter until the end of the war. After the war, Smalls serves in the South Carolina legislature, the State Senate, and then Congress, where he serves for 12 years.

Robert Smalls, USN

May 11, 1862

May 11, 1862: Hampton Roads, Chesapeaker Bay, Virginia - After having lightened the CSS Virginia of her guns, her coal, and her stores, Commodore Josiah Tatnall orders his men to strip off her armor, too, in an attempt to make her light enough to cross the bar into the James River. But even then, she will not clear the bar. Since her home base of Norfolk was now in Union hands, the Virginia had no where to go. In the wee hours of this morning, Tatnall orders her burnt and destroyed. The crew lights her on fire, and after an hour, the flames reach the magazine and the ship explodes.

CSS Virginia (nee Merrimac) under steam

—Pres. Lincoln boards the USS Baltimore at Ft. Monroe to return to Washington, but hears of the destruction of the CSS Virginia, and has the Baltimore steam over to where it happened. They then go upstream into the Elizabeth River to the newly-occupied city of Norfolk, where the ship spends the night, with Lincoln on board.


—Flag Officer Louis Goldsborough, in command of the USN fleet in Chesapeake Bay, orders a small flotilla, including the USS Monitor, to steam up the James River, shelling shore batteries as she does so, and to eventually to shell Richmond into surrender.


—Sarah Morgan of Baton Rouge, having just yesterday delighted in flaunting her Rebel flag in the faces of the Yankees, now has a profound change of heart about her conquerors and her behavior:


I was not ashamed of the flag of my country, — I proved that by never attempting to remove it in spite of my mortification, — but I was ashamed of my position; for these are evidently gentlemen, not the Billy Wilson’s crew we were threatened with. Fine, noble-looking men they were, showing refinement and gentlemanly bearing in every motion. One cannot help but admire such foes! They set us an example worthy of our imitation, and one we would be benefited by following. They come as visitors without either pretensions to superiority, or the insolence of conquerors; they walk quietly their way, offering no annoyance to the citizens, though they themselves are stared at most unmercifully, and pursued by crowds of ragged little boys, while even men gape at them with open mouths. They prove themselves gentlemen, while many of our citizens have proved themselves boors, and I admire them for their conduct.

May 10, 1862

May 10, 1862: Naval Action-Mississippi River: Battle of Plum Point Bend: Near Ft. Pillow, Tennessee—a five-mile stretch of fortifications and gun emplacements on the Mississippi River—there is a sharp naval battle between seven Union gunboats and ironclads under command of Capt. Charles H. Davis of the U.S. Navy and a flotilla of ten Rebel converted riverboats and rams under command of Captain Montgomery of the CS Navy. Montgomery steams directly at the flagship, the USS Cincinnati, and the CSS General Bragg rams her, followed by the CSS General Sterling Price. The Cincinnati begins to sink. The other six boats of the USN river squadron steam into the battle, and pound the Gen. Bragg, knocking her out of action when a shell passes through the boiler. The USS Mound City is rammed by the CSS General Sumter, and then by the CSS General Van Dorn, which also rakes the Mound City with gunfire. The Mound City sinks before she can get to shallower waters. The Cincinnati also sinks. The CSN River Defense Squadron retires to the protection of Ft. Pillow’s guns, and Memphis is safe for a while longer, yet. The Federal boats badly damage two Rebel vessels, but this is still clearly a rare Confederate naval victory.

U.S.S. Cincinnati

Confederate Victory.
—The Confederate Navy and Army finish evacuating Norfolk and the Gosport Naval Yard, setting the facility on fire. When the Federals discover this, Gen. John Wool and 6,000 troops from Ft. Monroe cross over on steamboats to find empty entrenchments and the Mayor of Norfolk ready to surrender the city.

—At Farmington, Mississippi, Gen. John Pope’s Federal troops (part of Gen. Halleck’s Grand Army of the West) are close enough to Corinth that the Confederates moved a line of battle and artillery out to meet them. After heavy skirmishing, the fighting ends, with nearly 150 men killed or wounded in the Federals who fought.

—In a strange letter to his family from Pvt. William Ray Wells of the 12^th New York Infantry, just arrived at West Point, halfway up the York River in Virginia, he tells of being attacked by "a party of negroes" and the rumor that the black men were in the Rebel army:



The troops are in excellent spirits and expect a brush soon. we have marching orders to move tomorrow morning. destination unknown. but expect somewhere facing the rebels. when our troops first landed here they were attacked by a party of negroes and a number of us slashed up with nives and had their throats cut. but we soon drove them back. . . . I will resume my pen and try and finish this to you. I have just been to the Capt. and borrowed an envelope. money does not do any good here as there is nothing to get unless it is something to eat from the negro families here whose male population are all in the sesesh army.

—Pvt. Robert Knox Sneden, in his journal, details the adverse conditions of muddy roads caused by incessant rains on the James Peninsula, and which is impeding McClellan’s march up the peninsula with the Army of the Potomac:

The wagon trains crawled along slowly, until an opening in the woods allowed one train to pass the other. After going two miles the wagons stuck in the mud every few minutes, while the mules were belabored unmercifully by the teamsters, while the air was blue with their swearing. . . . Then wheels would be interlocked and the mules roll completely out of harness, so the same old scenes were repeated. . . . The yells, cracking of whips, curses, and braying of the mules resounded through the woods for a great distance in many places. . . . As we neared the Halfway House we came upon numerous Rebel army wagons which had been stalled in the mud. They were lying on their sides with all wheels cut to pieces with axes. Nothing was found in the wagons but a few old salt bags. There were lots of dead mules strung out on the road for a mile of more lying on their backs, half smothered in mud, with their feet sticking up out of it. . . . All of our sugar, salt, and hardbread had got wet with the rain which poured down steadily until long after daylight.

—Sarah Morgan, of Baton Rouge, notes in her journal her defiance of the newly-arrived Yankee occupation forces:

Early in the evening, four more gunboats sailed up here. We saw them from the corner, three squares off, crowded with men even up in the riggings. The American flag was flying from every peak. It was received in profound silence, by the hundreds gathered on the banks. I could hardly refrain from a groan. Much as I once loved that flag, I hate it now! I came back and made myself a Confederate flag about five inches long, slipped the staff in my belt, pinned the flag to my shoulder, and walked downtown, to the consternation of women and children, who expected something
awful to follow.