October 17 In Civil War History

Jim Klag

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On this day in Civil War history

Compiled by Mitchell Werksman and Jim Klag

October 17, 1859 - Citizens discover John Brown, 19 men (including Brown's sons Oliver, Owen, and Watson) and several hostages including George Washington's great-grand-nephew in the armory. By the end of the day Brown, his men and 9 hostages occupied the fire engine house within the arsenal. Secretary of War John B. Floyd orders Col. Robert E. Lee and Lt. J. E. B. Stuart to the town.

October 17, 1861 - Skirmishes at Fredericktown, MO. (Oct 17-18)

October 17, 1862 - Skirmish at Mountain Home, AR.

October 17, 1862 - Skirmish at Sugar Creek, AR.

October 17, 1862 - Skirmishes about Camp Wild Cat, KY.

October 17, 1862 - Skirmishes at Valley Woods and Rocky Hill, KY.

October 17, 1862 - Skirmish at Lexington, MO.

October 17, 1862 - Civilian resistance to the Union draft in Carbon, Luzerne and Schuylkill Counties, PA, breaks out. (Oct 17-25)

October 10, 1862 - Skirmish at Island No. 10, TN, with a Confederate attack.

October 17, 1862 - Federal expedition to Thoroughfare Gap, VA, and skirmish. (Oct 17-18)

October 17, 1863 - As Ulysses S. Grant travels to Louisville, KY, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton boards the train in Indianapolis, IN with orders for him to assume command of the Military Division of the Mississippi.

October 17, 1863 - Action at Bogue Chitto Creek, MS.

October 17, 1863 - Skirmish at Robinson's Mills, near Livingston, MS.

October 17, 1863 - Skirmish near Satartia, MS.

October 17, 1863 - Skirmish in Cedar County, MO, with Col. Joseph O. Shelby, CSA.

October 17, 1863 - Skirmish near Camden Court-House, NC, where a Union Cavalry detachment is fired upon by guerrillas concealed in the swamps.

October 17, 1863 - Affair at Accotink, VA.

October 17, 1863 - Skirmish at Berryville, VA.

October 17, 1863 - Skirmishes at Groveton, VA, Bristoe Campaign. (Oct 17-18)

October 17, 1863 - Skirmishes at Manassas Junction and Frying Pan Church, near Pohick Church, VA, as Gen. Robert E. Lee, CSA, withdraws from Bull Run toward the Rappahannock River, VA, the Bristoe Campaign.

October 17, 1863 - Affair at Stuart's, near Chantilly, VA.

October 17, 1864 - The siege of Petersburg is ongoing.

October 17, 1864 - General James Longstreet resumes command of his corps after suffering a serious wound at The Wilderness.

October 17, 1864 - Skirmish at Eddyville, Lyon County, KY, as the Federals move from Louisville.

October 17, 1864 - Gen. Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, CSA, assumes the command of the Confederate Military Division of the West, east of the Mississippi River.

October 17, 1864 - The surrender of, and Confederate occupation of, Carrollton, MO, by Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, CSA.

October 17, 1864 - Skirmish near Lexington, MO, as the Union forces begin to close in on the invading Confederates under Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, CSA.

October 17, 1864 - The burning of Smithville, MO, by Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, CSA.

October 17, 1864 - Affair at Cedar Run Church, VA, the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.

October 17, 1910 - Julia Ward Howe, poet and composer (Battle Hymn of Republic), dies at 91 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
 

5fish

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October 17, 1862 - Skirmish at Mountain Home, AR
Here it is...


Skirmish at Mountain Home
AKA: Yellville Expedition
Location:

Baxter County

Campaign:

Yellville Expedition (October 12–19, 1862)

Date:

October 17, 1862

Principal Commanders:

Major John Wilber (US); Colonel J. R. Shaler (CS)

Forces Engaged:

Fourteenth Regiment Missouri State Militia, 100 men of the Missouri Militia (US); Seventh Division of the Missouri State Guard (CS)

Casualties:

None killed, 1 wounded (US); 10 killed, 20 wounded (CS)

Result:

Union victory

In late 1862, the Civil War along the Missouri-Arkansas border degenerated into a series of skirmishes and small raids. One of these raids was conducted by Major John Wilber in October 1862. Union brigadier general Francis Herron ordered an expedition commanded by Wilber to advance from its post at Ozark, Missouri, to Yellville (Marion County), the headquarters of General James McBride, commander of the Seventh Division of the Missouri State Guard. The intention was to surprise the Confederate force stationed at Yellville, burn or capture supplies, take prisoners, and then return to Missouri.

Maj. Wilber, commander of the Fourteenth Regiment Missouri State Militia, took 125 men from his command and an additional 100 men of the Missouri Militia and advanced into Marion County on October 12, 1862. Once the small force reached the north bank of the White River, it was unable to cross due to the river’s sudden rise. It then advanced eastward toward Talbot’s Ferry. Word had since spread about the Union expedition, and the surrounding area was swarming with Rebels. On the night of October 15, the small Union command encamped within ten miles of the ferry at Pierson’s Ford. On the morning of October 16, Wilber ordered his force to Talbot’s Barrens—later known as Mountain Home (Baxter County). A spy informed Wilber that a Confederate force of 2,000 infantry, 1,000 cavalry, and four pieces of artillery commanded by Colonel J. R. Shaler, the new commander of the Seventh Division after Gen. McBride’s resignation, was advancing toward Yellville. Upon learning this information, Wilber abandoned the idea of raiding Yellville, as he did not want his tiny command pinned against the swollen White River. After confiscating fifty horses, five wagons and their teams, and other contraband useful to the army, Wilber ordered a retreat that began at 8:00 p.m. on October 16. At 2:00 a.m., a rearguard of twenty-five men led by Lieutenant Mooney was cut off from the main body by a battalion of Shaler’s Confederates. Mooney led a charge through the blocking Confederates, reaching the Union main body without the loss of a single man, though Mooney was severely wounded. Wilber reported that the Confederates lost approximately ten men killed and about twenty wounded. The Union command returned to Ozark on October 19. This raid, while not significant, typified the small-scale actions along the border during this time.
 

5fish

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October 17, 1864 - Affair at Cedar Run Church, VA, the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
Here is this...


The troops now retired down the valley. October 17th found the regiment on picket at Cedar Bun Church. Rosser dashed in at night with two brigades, hoping to surprise the division in camp, but though he captured Major Marcy and thirty men, was defeated in his plans through the stout resistance of the men on guard.

Here is a page of a Union soldier who was capture there...

 
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