May 1 In Civil War History

Jim Klag

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On this day in Civil War history
Compiled by Mitchell Werksman and Jim Klag

May 1 Birthdays

1800 - Thomas Aloysius Dornin, American naval officer (USA), born in Ireland (d. 1874)
1807 - John B. Magruder, American Major General (Confederate Army), born in Port Royal, Virginia (d. 1871)
1819 - William Steele, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Albany, New York (d. 1885)

Wednesday May 1 1861
  • Joseph Eggleston Johnston, CSA, is appointed Brig. Gen.
  • Fort Washita, the Indian Territory, and near Texas, is occupied by the Texas militia.
  • Funeral services are held in Boston, MA, for the Union soldiers killed in the Baltimore, MD, riots.
  • Volunteer forces to support the Union are called out in the Nebraska Territory, by Governor Samuel W. Black.
  • Brig. Gen. Robert E. Lee, CSA, sends Confederate troops to Harper's Ferry, VA, under the command of Col. Thomas J. Jackson, VA Militia, to remove all military equipment.
  • The mouth of the James River, and Hampton Roads, VA, is blockaded by an assortment of US Navy vessels.
Thursday May 1 1862
  • William Tecumseh Sherman, U.S.A., is appointed Maj. Gen.
  • Samuel Powhatan Carter, USA, is appointed Brig. Gen.
  • Federal operations in vicinity of Athens, Mooresville, Limestone Bridge, and Elk River, AL, with Maj. Gen. Ormsby M. Mitchel, USA. (May 1-2)
  • New Orleans, LA, is occupied by the Union forces, under Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, USA.
  • Skirmish near Pulaski, TN, with Col. John Hunt Morgan, CSA.
  • Skirmish at Rapidan Station, VA.
  • Skirmish on Camp Creek, in the Stone River Valley, WV, and on the Lewisburg road, with Brig. Gen. Jacob D. Cox, USA.
  • Skirmish at Clark's Hollow, WV.
Friday May 1 1863
  • Skirmishes at Blountsville and on the East Branch of the Big Warrior River, AL, with Col. Abel D. Streight's, USA, raid.
  • Skirmishes at Chalk Bluff, Saint Francis River, near La Grange, AR, with Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke, CSA. (May 1-2)
  • Skirmish near La Grange, AR.
  • Skirmishes near Greensburg and at Williams' Bridge, LA, with Col. Benjamin H. Grierson's, USA, Cavalry raid.
  • Skirmish at Walls Post-Office, on the Amite River and north of Baton Rouge, LA, with Col. Benjamin H. Grierson, USA.
  • Skirmish near Washington, LA.
  • The Battle of Port Gibson, or Thompson's Hill, MS, with Brig. Gen. John S. Bowen, CSA, being defeated by Maj. Gen. John McClernand, USA. Total casualties approximate 1,700.
  • Brig. Gen. Edward Dorr Tracy, CSA, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Port Gibson, MS, dying instantly from a chest wound.
  • Skirmish at Chalk Bluff on the St. Francis River, MO, with Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke, CSA.
  • Federal reconnaissance from Murfreesborough to Lizard, TN.
  • The Battle of Chancellorsville, VA, as Gen. Robert E. Lee, CSA, plans the offensive with Lieut. Gen. Thomas Stonewall Jackson, CSA, after Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, USA, goes on the defense once the opening shots are fired around the Chancellor House, VA. Jackson, on a long March, rolls up the Union flank. Action takes place around Catherine Furnace, Wilderness Church, Dowdall's Tavern, Hazel Grove, the Orange Plank Road, etc. (May 1-3)
  • Skirmish at Rapidan Station, VA, with Maj. Gen. George Stoneman, USA, and his Union Cavalry.
  • Skirmish at South Quay Bridge, VA, near Suffolk, VA.
Sunday May 1 1864
  • Skirmish at Lee's Creek, AR.
  • Skirmish at Pine Bluff, AR.
  • Affair with Indians at Booth's Run, CA, after which 15 bucks and 25 squaws and children burn their bows and arrows, and come into the Federal camp to surrender.
  • Brig. Gen. John P. Hatch, USA, assumes the command of the Dept. of the South, FL, replacing Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore, USA.
  • Skirmish at Stone Church, GA, near Chattanooga, TN.
  • Skirmish at Ashton, LA.
  • Skirmish at Ashwood Landing, LA.
  • Affair at Berwick, LA, with an attack by Confederate cavalry.
  • Skirmish at Clinton, LA.
  • The US transport, Emma, is captured at David's Ferry, Red River, LA, the Red River (LA) Campaign.
  • Skirmishes at Governor Moore's Plantation, LA, the Red River (LA) Campaign. (May 1-4)
  • Lieut. Col. John Mosby's Cavalry and Military Operations in Virginia, begins with the capture of 8 of Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel's, USA, wagon train near Bunker Hill, Shenandoah Valley, VA. Mosby then proceeds to Martinsburg, capturing Federal men and horses. His men had a skirmish near Winchester, losing several men. Mosby's men also attacked a heavily guarded wagon train near Strasburg, capturing about 30 men and horses. About May 10, Mosby attacked the Union Cavalry outpost near Front Royal, capturing 16 men and 75 horses without any losses. About May 20, Mosby failed to capture a heavily guarded Federal wagon train near Strasburg but this action prevented Maj. Gen. David Hunter, USA, from receiving this as well as future wagon trains. About Jun 20, Mosby moved into Fairfax and routed a body of Union Cavalry near Centreville, VA, killing, wounding and capturing 39. About Jun 22, Mosby captured Duffield's Depot, on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, taking 50 prisoners, having another encounter near Harper's Ferry, capturing 19 Yankees and 27 horses. And on Jul 4, Mosby moved to assist Lieut. Gen. Jubal Early, CSA, in his 2nd invasion of Maryland, fighting the Federals on Jul 6 near Mount Zion Church, assisting Early on the way, during and returning from his invasion of the North. (May 1-Aug 3)
Monday May 1 1865
  • The following are appointed Union Brigadier Generals:
    • James Sanks Brisbin, USA
    • Thomas Odgen Osborn, USA
    • Joseph Haydn Potter, USA
  • Maj. Gen. Governeur K. Warren, USA, is ordered to relieve Maj. Gen. Napoleon J. T. Dana, USA, in the command of the Dept. of Mississippi.
  • Federal scout against Indians from OjodeAnaya, the New Mexico Territory. (May 1-9)
  • The pursuit and the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, currently at Cokesburg, SC, and heading for the Florida coast. (May 1-10)
  • President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train arrives in Chicago, IL, where his body lies in state at the courthouse.
May 1 Deaths

1881 - John S. Preston, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 72 in Columbia, SC.
 
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