Day of Prayer in Confederacy; Skirmish at Romney, Va.
- Today is set aside by President Jefferson Davis as a special day of fasting and prayer in the Confederacy for the “Lord of Hosts to guide and direct our policy in the paths of right, duty, justice, and mercy; to unite our hearts, and our efforts for the defence of our dearest rights: to strengthen our weakness; crown our arms with success, and to enable us to secure a speedy, just, and honorable peace.”/1861
- In a telegram from Adjutant General Samuel Cooper, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in command at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, is authorized, if he feels the enemy “is about to turn [his] position”, to "destroy everything at Harper’s Ferry" and "retire upon the railroad towards Winchester." Meanwhile as George B. McClellan and Patterson advance from the west and north on the strategic town at the foot of the Shenandoah Valley, Johnston orders Colonel Thomas J. Jackson to abandon Harper's Ferry./1861
- US Brigadier General Lew Wallace, who had received his rank by raising a regiment, the 11th Indiana, today marches his 500 men from Maryland to Romney, western Virginia, allegedly to protect pro-Union citizens from harassment. After a skirmish at Romney, Wallace retreats to Maryland. Wallace, like so many new paper generals in Lincoln’s Army, is a lawyer and politician who had served in the Mexican War but had no formal military training. He would after the War write the book, Ben Hur./1861
- In Washington, President Lincoln signs legislation forming the United States Sanitary Commission, a civilian organization whose aim is to provide care for the sick & wounded in the war, revolutionizing health care for the US military./1861
- At the Second Wheeling (western Virginia) Convention, John Carlile introduces to the convention "A Declaration of the People of Virginia," calling for the reorganization of Virginia state government on the grounds that Virginia's secession had in effect vacated all offices of the existing government./1861
Image via Wikipedia
Image via Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment