Queen Victoria on ‘Fyvie’ with John Brown at Balmoral in 1863. Photograph by George Washington Wilson.

February 1, 1863 – February 14, 1863

By Phil Kohn
Phil Kohn can be reached at USCW160@yahoo.com

On February 1, 1863, an attack by U.S. naval forces on Fort McAllister, situated on the Ogeechee River, south of Savannah, Georgia, fails. In Tennessee, however, the town of Franklin is taken and occupied by Union troops.

The Federal ram USS Queen of the West on February 2 runs down the Mississippi River past the batteries of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and begins to interfere with Confederate shipping and trade all the way down to and along the Red River.

On February 3, Confederate cavalry under Maj. General Joseph Wheeler and Brig. General Nathan Bedford Forrest conduct an unsuccessful raid against Dover and Ft. Donelson, in Tennessee. The two generals have a serious falling out over the failure, and Forrest publicly vows never to serve with Wheeler again. In Washington, D.C., Secretary of State William Seward meets with the French minister to discuss France’s proposal to mediate the conflict between the United States and the Confederate States.

A Union raid on Batesville, Arkansas, on February 4, temporarily drives the Confederate cavalry of Brig. Gen. John Marmaduke out of the area. In Louisiana, Confederate fortunes are better as Union forces are routed at Lake Providence, in the northeast of the state.

In London, England, on February 5, Queen Victoria declares that Great Britain will not attempt to mediate a cessation of hostilities between the United States and the Confederate States. Among reasons given is the low probability of success. In Virginia, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, new head of the U.S. Army of the Potomac, reorganizes his forces. He scraps former commander Ambrose Burnside’s grand divisions and instead forms eight corps, to be led by: Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds (I Corps), Maj. Gen. Darius Couch (II), Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles (III), Maj. Gen. George Meade (V), Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick (VI), Maj. Gen. William F. Smith (IX), Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel (XI) and Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum (XII). Maj. Gen. George Stoneman will command the cavalry.

On February 6, Secretary of State Seward via the French minister in Washington notifies France’s emperor, Napoleon III, that the U.S. will not accept his offer to mediate the hostilities with the Confederacy. Three Confederate blockade-runners slip through the U.S. Navy blockade of Charleston Harbor in South Carolina and successfully make port. The Confederacy announces that its ports at Galveston and Sabine Pass, Texas, are now open.

In Illinois, the Federal military on February 8, suspends distribution of the Chicago Times newspaper for allegedly making “disloyal statements” in support of “Copperheads” (anti-war Democrats and others) in Congress. The suspension is lifted on February 17.

There is widespread skirmishing on February 10, with action reported at Chantilly and along the Rappahannock River in Virginia, in Mississippi and in Louisiana.

In the waters of the West Indies, the Confederate sloop-of-war CSS Florida, commanded by Capt. John Maffitt, captures the U.S.-flagged clipper ship Jacob Bell on February 12. En route from Foochow, China, to New York City, Jacob Bell is carrying 1,380 tons of tea, as well as other articles, including 10,000 boxes of fireworks, valued at over $2 million. The next day, after removing Jacob Bell’s complement of 42, including two women, Florida sets the Yankee vessel afire, sinking it, with the entire cargo lost.

The Federal ironclad USS Indianola on February 13 churns past the batteries of Vicksburg and joins USS Queen of the West on the Red River. In North Carolina, Union gunboats attempt to sail up the Roanoke River to attack Fort Branch and the under-construction Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle. However, the sortie is unsuccessful. In Washington, D.C., at the White House, where social activities have picked up, Mrs. Lincoln entertains the world-famous circus midget General Tom Thumb and his new bride.

On February 14, USS Queen of the West, while engaging Confederate shore batteries, runs aground in the Red River, is abandoned and captured by Confederates. The grounded vessel’s commander, U.S. Army Col. Charles Ellet, blames a “disloyal pilot.” Queen of the West’s crew escapes by floating over to a nearby army vessel, the steamer De Soto, by hanging onto cotton bales. Companion vessel USS Indianola escapes downstream to the mouth of the Red River. Taking a position at the confluence of the Red and Mississippi Rivers, Indianola will harass Southern vessels heading towards Vicksburg.