Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg
October 4, 1863 – October 17, 1863
By Phil Kohn
Phil Kohn can be reached at USCW160@yahoo.com
In the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, on the night of October 5, 1863, the Confederate semi-submersible CSS David rams the Federal ironclad USS New Ironsides with a spar torpedo. The explosion damages the Union vessel extensively, but not critically.
On October 6, Confederate President Jefferson Davis departs Richmond for the Western Theater. His purpose is to meet with Gen. Braxton Bragg and try to resolve the issues between Bragg and his disgruntled subordinate generals. They have sent a petition to Davis asking him to remove Bragg from command. In Kansas, William Quantrill and about 400 of his raiders — making their way from Missouri to Texas — attack Fort Blair, located at Baxter Springs. The fort is garrisoned by around 25 troopers of the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry and 65-70 infantrymen of the 2nd Kansas Colored Troops. Although outnumbered, the Federals repel the attack, forcing Quantrill and his men to retreat into the surrounding prairie. On the prairie, Quantrill’s men (most of them wearing makeshift or stolen Union uniforms) stumble upon a detachment of Union soldiers escorting Maj. Gen. James Blunt, who is moving his headquarters from Ft. Scott, Kansas, to Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Taking the detachment by surprise, Quantrill’s men quickly dispatch most of the soldiers, killing 103 plus 10 civilians traveling with them. Gen. Blunt is among the few survivors. Quantrill and his men then continue on their way to Texas.
In Virginia, although the Army of Northern Virginia is weakened by the absence of two divisions (they are with Longstreet near Chattanooga) and outnumbered roughly 1.5:1, Gen. Lee tries to take advantage of the also-reduced numbers of the Army of the Potomac (with two corps also near Chattanooga with Hooker). On October 9, Lee moves out of his camp south of the Rapidan River, crosses the river moving west, then northward in an attempt to turn Meade’s right flank and head toward Washington.
On October 10, Jefferson Davis arrives in Chattanooga and meets with Gen. Bragg and his subordinates atop Missionary Ridge. Davis, however, can find no workable resolution to the dispute. Frustrated, he finally throws his support to Bragg and transfers or demotes a number of Bragg’s unhappy subordinates. In Virginia, there is extensive skirmishing in the vicinity of the Rapidan River as the Federals try to determine the meaning of Lee’s movements.
Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia takes Culpeper, Virginia, on October 11, forcing Maj. Gen. Meade to withdraw his Army of the Potomac some 40 miles toward Washington, D.C.
The news about the “Burnt District” (four counties in Missouri razed in September by Union troops to discourage pro-Confederate guerrilla activities) spurs Confederate action emanating from Arkansas. Col. Joseph O. “Jo” Shelby leads 600 cavalry troopers from the Confederate capital of Arkadelphia northward into Missouri. After a Federal garrison at Neosho, Missouri, is forced to surrender, Shelby’s force heads north, skirmishing all the way, reaching Arrow Rock, on the Missouri River, on October 13, where the Confederates are finally defeated and begin to turn back.
Elements of the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac clash at Bristoe Station, Virginia, on October 14. There is much maneuvering by both sides, but no clear result. Casualties: Union, around 550; Confederate, about 1,900. The Army of the Potomac settles in around Centreville, Virginia, not far from Manassas.
On October 15, the submarine CSS H.L. Hunley sinks for a second time, during a practice dive in Charleston Harbor, drowning its inventor and seven crewmen. The vessel is subsequently raised yet one more time.
From Washington, D.C., on October 16, comes an announcement of a major reorganization of the army. The Departments of the Ohio, the Cumberland and the Tennessee are being combined into a Military Division of the Mississippi, to be commanded by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. He is ordered to leave his post at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and to make his way to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In Washington, President Lincoln on October 17 issues a proclamation calling for 300,000 additional volunteers for Federal military service. In Virginia, Lee, not wanting to face an attack from Meade’s larger force, begins pulling back his troops from Manassas towards the Rappahannock River.
