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On this day in Civil War history
Compiled by Mitchell Werksman and Jim Klag
May 3 Birthdays
1816 - Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1892)
Friday May 3 1861
Compiled by Mitchell Werksman and Jim Klag
May 3 Birthdays
1816 - Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1892)
Friday May 3 1861
- President Lincoln creates the Dept. of the Ohio, consisting of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, and assigns George Brinton McClellan, Maj. Gen. of Ohio Militia, to its command.
- Governor John Letcher of Virginia issues a call for additional volunteer forces.
- In Washington, DC, Bvt. Lieut. Gen. Winfield Scott develops the Anaconda Plan, whereby the Union envelopes the Southern states by use of a Naval blockade of all major ports.
- Edward Otho Cresap Ord, U.S.A. is appointed Maj. Gen.
- Skirmish at Batesville, AR, with Brig. Gen. Samuel Curtis, USA.
- The destruction of bridges on Lookout Creek, near Lookout Mountain, GA.
- Skirmish at Watkins' Ferry, GA.
- Federal reconnaissance to and skirmish at Farmington, MS, between Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck, USA, and Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, CSA.
- Federal reconnaissances to the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, MS.
- Yorktown, VA, is evacuated by the Confederates, under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, and Maj. Gen John Magruder, CSA, before Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, USA, could use his heavy artillery siege guns.
- Martial law is proclaimed in Southwest Virginia.
- Brig. Gen. Elisha Franklin Paxton, CSA, is mortally wounded on the 2nd day of the Chancellorsville, VA, Battle, dying instantly from a rifle shot while leading an attack on the Federal lines.
- Maj. Gen. Hiram Gregory Berry, USA, is mortally wounded while attempting to regroup his command after Stonewall Jackson's surprise flank attack at the Battle of Chancellorsville, VA.
- Brig. Gen. Edmund Kirby, USA, is mortally wounded near the Chancellor House, while commanding an artillery battery, receiving a dangerous leg wound from cannon fire.
- Gouverneur Kemble Warren, U.S.A., is appointed Maj. Gen.
- Skirmish and surrender of Col. Streight, USA, to Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA, near Cedar Bluff, AL. Col. Streight and his subordinate officers are sent to Libby Prison, Richmond, VA.
- The evacuation of Grand Gulf, MS, by the Confederates.
- Skirmishes on the North Fork of Bayou Pierre, at Willow Springs, Ingraham's Heights, Jones' Cross-Roads, Forty Hills, and Hankinson's Ferry, the Big Black River, MS.
- Federal scout in Cass and Bates Counties, MO, searching for guerrillas. (May 3-11)
- Federal expedition on the Sante Fe Road, MO.
- Federal scout from Triune to Eagleville, TN.
- Affair at Saint Joseph's Island, TX, as the Confederates kill, capture, and rout the Federal landing party there.
- Skirmishes at Ashland and Hanover Station, VA.
- Skirmish at Chuckatuck, VA, near Suffolk, VA.
- The Battle of Fredericksburg (or Mayre's Heights) and Salem Church (or Salem Heights), and near Banks' Ford, and Chancellorsville, VA, with skirmishes, generally along the lines, as Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, USA, orders Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, USA, to overrun the remaining Confederate lines holding Mayre's Heights.
- Skirmishes near Hill's Point and Reed's Ferry, on the Nansemond River, near Suffolk, VA, with Lieut. Gen. James Longstreet, CSA.
- Federal reconnaissance on the Providence Church Road, VA, near Suffolk, VA.
- Skirmish at South Anna Bridge, Ashland, VA, with Maj. Gen. George Stoneman's, USA, Cavalry.
- Skirmish at Warrenton Junction, VA, where Capt. John S. Mosby, CSA, surprises and captures Union cavalry; is then surprised himself by the 1st WV Cavalry and loses most of his prisoners.
- Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele's, USA, column arrives at Little Rock, AR.
- Skirmish near the mouth of Richland Creek, AR, where guerrillas capture a Yankee wagon train.
- Skirmish at Cedar Bluffs with the Cheyenne Indians, the Colorado Territory, killing 25 and wounding 40 more.
- Skirmish at Catoosa Springs, GA.
- Skirmish at Chickamauga Creek, GA.
- Skirmish at Red Clay, GA.
- Skirmish between the Bayous Redwood and Olive Branch, at Comite bridge, near Baton Rouge, LA, with a Confederate attack.
- The US transport, City Belle, is captured, the Red River (LA) Campaign.
- Federal raid on Bulltown, WV, where they burn the town.
- President Abraham Lincoln and his Cabinet discuss the alledged massacre of surrendered, unarmed Federal troops, many black, by Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's, CSA, Cavalry command at Fort Pillow, TN.
- Federal expedition against Cheyenne Indians from Fort Laramie to Wind River, the Dakota Territory. (May 3-21)
- Federal operations about Fort Adams, MS, with the assistance of the steamer, Magnet, and the gunboat, Chillicothe. Rumor has it Davis, with a small escort, crossed the river at Quitman. News is arriving of the surrender of Lieut. Gen. Richard Taylor's Confederate forces. (May 3-6)
- Federal expedition from Rodney to Port Gibson, MS, with skirmishes. (May 3-6)
- Skirmishes on the Missouri River about 15 miles south of Boonville, MO, as the Federals surprise numerous guerrillas attempting to ford the Missouri River.
- Affair with attacking guerrillas near Pleasant Hill, MO, the outlaws escaping towards the Snibar Hills.
- Federal expeditions from Fort Churchill to Carson Lake and the Truckee and Humboldt Rivers, Nevada, against a threatened Indian uprising. (May 3-Jun 15)
- President Jefferson Davis' entourage continues to dwindle as Confederate Secretary of State, Judah P. Benjamin, resigns and flees, eventually reaching England.
- President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train reaches its final destination of Springfield, IL.