Drawing of CSS Arkansas
August 3, 1862 – August 16, 1862
By Phil Kohn
Phil Kohn can be reached at USCW160@yahoo.com.
Despite the vehement protests of Maj. Gen. George McClellan, U.S. General-in-Chief Henry Halleck on August 3, 1862, orders the Army of the Potomac to move from the Virginia Peninsula to the northern part of the state, to assist the Federal army there under Maj. Gen. John Pope, and to protect Washington, D.C.
On August 4, President Lincoln declines an offer by “Western gentlemen” to seek the enlistment of two black regiments from Indiana for the army. The president instead suggests employing them as laborers.
At Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on August 5, some 2,600 Confederates led by Maj. Gen. John Breckinridge attack about 2,500 Federal troops under the command of Brig. Gen. Thomas Williams, who is killed in the fight. CSS Arkansas, on the way to assist at Baton Rouge, suffers engine failure and is badly damaged by a flotilla of Federal ships. The Southern advance is stopped, and the engagement ends with a Union counterattack. Casualties are: 383 for the U.S., 456 for the Confederates. In addition to Brig. Gen. Williams, another of those killed is Confederate Capt. Alexander Todd, the brother-in-law of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Afterwards, the Confederates pull back to about 10 miles north of the city and begin to heavily fortify the bluffs above the Mississippi River at Port Hudson.
On August 6, the heavily damaged Southern ironclad CSS Arkansas is attacked again by Union vessels. Arkansas is evacuated by her crew near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and blown up. At Kirksville, Missouri, Federal troops armed with artillery rout Col. Joseph Porter’s guerrillas. Shortly after, Porter disbands his command.
Confederate troops in Virginia push toward Union positions at Culpeper on August 7.
In the Federal capital on August 8, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton orders that anyone attempting to evade military service be arrested. Union and Confederate troops engage in fighting at Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. The Southerners do not fare well, suffering 125 killed and wounded versus Federal casualties of three dead and 15 wounded.
Union forces under Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Banks, outnumbered almost 2-1, attack Stonewall Jackson’s Confederates at Cedar Mountain, Virginia, on August 9 and are soundly defeated. U.S. casualties almost double Confederate losses. The fight alerts the Southerners that Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Federal force is on the offensive, moving southward, and that it will likely be reinforced by soldiers from McClellan’s Army of the Potomac.
From his headquarters at Corinth, Mississippi, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant announces on August 11, 1862, that fugitive slaves in areas under his jurisdiction will be employed as laborers by the U.S. military.
Confederate Col. John Hunt Morgan captures Gallatin, Tennessee, and its Federal garrison on August 12. His cavalry then goes on to destroy sections of railroad north of Nashville.
With the threat to Richmond eased and intelligence indicating McClellan’s force is readying to leave the area, Gen. Robert E. Lee on August 13 begins moving his Army of Northern Virginia northward towards Gordonsville, Virginia, to defend against Pope.
On August 14, McClellan’s first units begin leaving the Virginia Peninsula, with some going to Pope’s command. Moving out of Knoxville, Tennessee, towards Cumberland Gap is Maj. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, leading 21,000 Confederates in four divisions, including reinforcements from Gen. Braxton Bragg.
Col. Stand Watie and his Cherokee Mounted Rifles recapture Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory, on August 15. The three Union regiments that had occupied the town had earlier retreated to Kansas (taking Cherokee chief John Ross with them under arrest). Watie and his men administer punishment to those who aided the Federals during their brief occupation.
Following orders, Maj. Gen. George McClellan on August 16 departs Harrison’s Landing, Virginia, leading his Army of the Potomac northward towards Alexandria, Virginia, to connect with Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Federal Army of Virginia.
