McCulloch: "Let Missouri choose her destiny"

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Gen. Ben McCulloch

• After Federal forces under Gen. Nathaniel Lyon have chased the pro-secession Missouri State Guard, its commander, Gen. Sterling Price, and its duly elected Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson, out of the state capital at Jefferson City and nearly out of the state. At last, at Wilson’s Creek near Springfield, reinforced by Confederate General Benjamin McCulloch’s Western Army composed of Arkansans and Cherokees, they had made a stand, and now Lyon is dead and the Federals in retreat. Gen. Ben McCulloch, today gives Missouri citizens an ultimatum: it is time to take sides. Unlike Lyon and the Federals, McCulloch promises protection to Union sympathizers, but “Missouri must be allowed to choose her own destiny.”/1861

• At Washington, by proclamation, President Lincoln appoints the "last Thursday in September next, as a day of humiliation, prayer and fasting for all the people of the nation." In a recess appointment, Lincoln reappoints William S. Wood, who had charge of the special train that brought Lincoln to Washington for his inauguration, as commissioner of public buildings, as the Senate failed to act on his appointment before adjourning. /1861
• US Navy Commander J. Rodgers arrives with gunboats USS Tyler, Lexington, and Conestoga, at Cairo, Illinois, to protect the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and to guard against Confederate movements./1861

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• Lincoln, Congress make runaway slaves US property (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• Manassas the day after: Fallout & Reflection (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• Lincoln recognizes "Federal" Virginia (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• Congress invests in ironclad technology as blockade tightens (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• Lincoln ignores Greeley on peace; violates Kentucky sovereignty again (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)

Davis calls for 400,000 volunteers to defend the South

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• In Richmond, President Jefferson Davis calls for 400,000 volunteers to defend their homes in the Confederacy./1861
• At Washington, US Secretary of War Simon Cameron replies to another of General Benjamin Butler’s queries about making runaway slaves contraband. Cameron tells Butler that Union troops must adhere to fugitive slave laws, but only within Union territory. All states in insurrection are exempt from the protection and escaped slaves in those areas will not be returned to their owners but become property of the US government./1861
• In the Gulf of Mexico, the USS Santee, commanded by Captain Eagle, captures the blockade runner schooner C.P. Knapp./1861
• Brig. Gen. U. S. Grant assumes command of the district of Ironton, Missouri./1861
• At a public dinner and serenade in Baltimore, Maryland, in honor of John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, his attempt to address the people is prevented by the rioting of Unionists./1861

Related articles

• Butler: "Make the runaways contraband" (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• Escaped Slaves are Not Free; Gathering Rebels in Missouri (civilwardailygazette.com)
• August 8, 1861: Jefferson Davis on "Alien Enemies" (gathkinsons.net)
• August 6, 1861: Lincoln signs the Confiscation Act of 1861 (civilwar-online.com)
• Lincoln, Congress make runaway slaves US property (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)

Confederate troops burn Hampton, Virginia

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USS Cairo

• Confederate troops burn Hampton, Virginia, where Fortress Monroe is located with US General Benjamin Butler in command. General John Bankhead Magruder indicates that Butler’s quartering of runaway slaves and advocacy that they be made contraband is part of the reason for burning the town./1861 
• In Washington, the US War Department, trying to further improve operations, contracts with J.B. Eads of St. Louis to build seven shallow-draft ironclad river gunboats. These gunboats, the USS Cairo, Carondolet, Cincinnati, Louisville, Mound City, Pittsburg, and St. Louis, will become the backbone of Grant’s Union naval force in the Western Theater beginning in February 1862./1861 
• Near Ship Island, Mississippi, the USS Massachusetts under Commander M. Smith captures the blockade runner sloop Charles Henry./1861

Lincoln, Congress make runaway slaves US property

• In Washington, the US Congress, now in lock-step with the dictates of the Lincoln Administration, and trying to finish its legislative agenda for an August recess, gets a flurry of new bills done. President Lincoln and Cabinet members gather at the Capitol to approve and sign those bills. The U.S. Congress approves the Confiscation Act of 1861, permitting seizure of property, including slaves, used to support the rebellion. The act permits the confiscation of any property that had been allowed by the owner to be used by the Confederates against the United States. The act strips their slave owners of any claim to them but does not clarify whether the slaves are free. Because of this uncertainty, slaves who flee to U.S. forces become the property of the U.S. government. Lincoln hesitates before signing the bill. He also signs a law giving freedom to slaves employed by Confederates in carrying on war and approves an act authorizing a penalty for recruiting soldiers or sailors, and for enlisting, against U.S. Congress also passes and Lincoln signs an Army bill establishing the pay of private soldiers with an amendment legalizing the proclamations and orders of President since his inauguration. The Congress then adjourns its special session./1861

• In a show of Federal force disregarding Kentucky’s sovereignty, the US War Department establishes a military camp near Lexington, Kentucky, violating Kentucky’s declared neutrality./1861

Settlers declare Confederate Territory of Arizona

CS flag raised in Tucson, 3/28/1861

• • In Richmond, Virginia, President Jefferson Davis calls a Cabinet meeting to decide what should be done about the atrocities committed by northern generals against Southern prisoners and civilians. Cabinet unanimously says retaliation should be used only in extreme cases. Later, Davis urges General Joseph E. Johnston to take advantage of the weakness among Union forces following their defeat at Manassas. /1861
  • Meanwhile, General Robert E. Lee arrives in West Virginia to take command of Confederate forces following their defeat under General Garnett at Carrick’s Ford./1861 
• Image via WikipediaSettlers with Lt. Col. John Baylor of the 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles officially declare the Confederate Territory of Arizona following the Confederate victory at the Battle of Mesilla. It consists of the New Mexico Territory south of the 34th parallel north to the US border with Mexico, including parts of the modern states of New Mexico and Arizona. Its capital is Mesilla (now in Las Cruces, New Mexico) along the southern border. In July 1860, a constitutional convention at Tucson had established the territory, but recognition in Washington was blocked by anti-slavery Congressmen. Having seceded from the US in March 1861, the Arizona Territory now sends a petition to the Confederate States for recognition. In July 1862, the Confederate Arizona territorial government will relocate in exile to El Paso, Texas, after the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Glorieta Pass (New Mexico Campaign) and remain for the rest of the war. The territory will be represented in the Confederate Congress and Confederate troops will continue to fight under the Arizona banner until war's end./1861

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• First Battle of Mesilla, Arizona (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• West Texans capture Fort Fillmore, New Mexico (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• President Davis Mishandling Provisions?; Arizona (CSA) is Established (civilwardailygazette.com)
• Battle in New Mexico! Confederates Gather in Missouri (civilwardailygazette.com)
• A Fort About to Fall and a Bit of Mutiny (civilwardailygazette.com)
• 2nd Texas arrives at Mesilla; Wise evacuates Tyler Mountain (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• The Great Bloodless War in the East; Preparing for Blood in the West (civilwardailygazette.com)

Butler: "Make the runaways contraband"

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R.M.T. Hunter

• In Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate Senate confirms Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter of Virginia as Secretary of State. R.M.T. Hunter is a former US Congressman (1837-1847), former Speaker of the House (1839-1841) and former US Senator from Virginia (1847-1861). Although once he aligned with John C. Calhoun on states' rights sovereignty, he served on the Congressional Committee of Thirteen during the winter of 1860, fruitlessly seeking compromise and peace against President-elect Lincoln's war-mongering./1861 

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Cartoon depicting Butler's re-enslavement of runaways

• In Washington, General Benjamin Butler in command at Fort Monroe, Virginia, presses US Secretary of War Simon Cameron to set a policy regarding slaves in Federal hands. Butler now has 900 runaway slaves and wants some clarity as to their status as property. “What shall be done with them?” he asks Cameron. Under the provisions of the Fugitive Slave Laws they are property, and he is legally obligated to return them to their owners. Butler’s dehumanizing solution is to declare them “contraband of war” and put them to work building fortifications./1861
• In Missouri, the pro-Union State Convention votes 56-25 to declare the Governor’s office vacant, thus unseating pro-secession Governor Claiborne F. Jackson, who is in command of the Missouri State Guard in southwest Missouri. The Missouri Secretary of State and Lieutenant Governor’s offices are already vacant, as are some  legislative seats because most of those holding office were secessionists who have now been purged and made to flee./1861

Related articles

• June 26, 1861: Plans to invade Missouri or Kansas (gathkinsons.net)
• June 29, 1861: Missouri has been crushed (gathkinsons.net)
• Merrimack raised; Lyon replaces Harney (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• Missouri troops win Battle of Carthage (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• May 25, 1861: Benjamin Butler and the first "Contrabands" (civilwar-online.com)
• Jackson moves on B&O; Butler to Fortress Monroe (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)

First Battle of Mesilla, Arizona

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Eastern Confederate Arizona

• With his troops’ three months’ military enlistment expiring, US Gen. Robert Patterson is relieved of duty in the Shenandoah Valley, having failed to hold Joseph Johnston in Winchester, Virginia, and prevent him from moving east to support Beauregard at Manassas (Bull Run)./1861
• Falling in line with the Lincoln Administration, the US Congress approves the use of volunteers to put down the rebellion. Also, the US Senate passes by a vote of 30-5 the Crittenden-Johnson Resolution offered by Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, which states the reason for war and invasion of the South is preservation of the Union and the Constitution, not to interfere with the institution of slavery as it is established. The measure is important in keeping Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland in the Union. Although the measure passes in Congress, it means little because within two weeks, President Lincoln will sign a confiscation act, allowing for the seizure of property—including slaves—from rebellious citizens. /1861
• Missouri continues to convulse with unrest. Fighting breaks out at Harrisville and Dug Springs. US Major General John C. Fremont assumes command of the Department of the West at St. Louis./1861
• At Mesilla, capital of the self-proclaimed Confederate Arizona Territory in the Federal Territory of New Mexico, a battalion of the 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles under Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor, on their “buffalo hunt” to drive out Union sympathy in the New Mexico Territory, fight the First Battle of Mesilla in the vicinity of Fort Fillmore. If they can force Federal troops out of the Southwest, they can open New Mexico to Confederate control. Baylor leads his battalion across the Rio Grande into Mesilla, to the cheers of the population. A company of Arizona Confederates join Baylor here, and are mustered into the Confederate Army. Meanwhile at Fort Fillmore near Mesilla, Major Isaac Lynde, of the 7^th US Infantry, leaves a small force behind to guard the fort, and leads 380 Regulars to the village of Messilla to drive out Baylor. Lynde approaches the town and demands Baylor's surrender. When Baylor refuses, Lynde deploys his men into a skirmish line and opens fire with his mountain howitzers. The infantry is ordered to advance but heavy sand and corn fields interfere with his attack. Lynde then orders his cavalry, three companies of the Regiment of Mounted Rifles, to charge Baylor's men. The Confederates managed to shoot many of the Union soldiers, disorganizing the attack, and repulsing the Union assault. Both sides begin skirmishing at long range as Lynde reforms his command and decides to retreat to the fort with Baylor’s Texans and armed Arizona citizens in pursuit. Lynde loses between 3 and 13 men killed plus 2 officers and 4 men wounded, while Baylor’s losses are between 2 and 7 dead and 7 seriously wounded with twenty horses killed./1861
• John LaMountain begins balloon reconnaissance ascensions at Fortress Monroe, Virginia./1861

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• Lincoln Talks to the Troops; CSA Invades the North (Sort Of) (civilwardailygazette.com)
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Manassas the day after: Fallout & Reflection

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T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson

• Following the disaster for United States forces at Manassas (Bull Run), Virginia, yesterday, the Lincoln Administration has an easy scapegoat. Gen. Irvin McDowell is out and George B. McClellan is in, due to his mastery of the art of self-promotion. McClellan reports to Lincoln at Washington to receive his orders and becomes commander of the Department of Washington and Northeastern Virginia. On the Southern side, Beauregard becomes a full general in the Confederate States Army as a reward for a stunning victory. Meanwhile, Thomas J. Jackson, now being called “Stonewall,” for his actions yesterday on the field at Manassas Junction, writes to his wife, Mary Anna Jackson, “Yesterday we fought a great battle and gained a great victory, for which all the glory is due to God alone. Although under a heavy fire for several continuous hours I received only one wound, the breaking of the longest finger of my left hand; but the doctor says the finger may be saved. It was broken about midway between the hand and knuckle, the ball passing on the side next to the forefinger. Had it struck the centre, I should have lost the finger. My horse was wounded, but not killed. Your coat got an ugly wound near the hip, but my servant, who is very handy, has so far repaired it that it doesn't show very much. My preservation was entirely due, as was the glorious victory, to our God, to whom be all the honor, praise, and glory. The battle was the hardest that I have ever been in, but not near so hot in its fire.” Then Jackson writes to his pastor in Lexington, Virginia, “My dear pastor, in my tent last night, after a fatiguing day's service, I remembered that I failed to send a contribution for our colored Sunday school. Enclosed you will find a check for that object, which please acknowledge at your earliest convenience and oblige yours faithfully.”/1861 
• Union admiral David Farragut’s gunboats move into position to threaten any steamers on the Mississippi River./1861
• The U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution declaring the War is being waged to preserve the Union rather than to end slavery. The Senate will vote on the measure on July 25./1861

• The three-months US volunteers begin to return home as their enlistments come to an end. These enlistments ending are the reason why Lincoln pushed McDowell into a fight. Now McDowell is out of a job because his commander in chief pushed him prematurely into a battle his men were not prepared to fight./1861
• Confusion continues to reign in Missouri. The State Convention meeting at Jefferson City votes to support the Union cause and provides for a new pro-Union government to meet at St. Louis. Pro-Southern Governor Claiborne F. Jackson continues to claim that his administration is the only legal body in Missouri. Meanwhile, US Brigadier General Thomas W. Sweeny marches 45 miles through thunderstorms and skirmishes in the evening with 150 Missouri State Guardsmen at Forsyth, Missouri, taking possession of the town in about an hour, along with a quantity of munitions and supplies left in the courthouse./1861

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• Battle at Manassas (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• Armies mass at Manassas Junction (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• McDowell moves on Manassas Junction (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• Manassas: Johnston arrives to reinforce Beauregard (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)

Merrimack raised; Lyon replaces Harney

• At the mouth of Aquia Creek on the Chesapeake Bay, the USS Freeborn returns with the USS Anacostia and USS Resolute and engage the Virginia Militia batteries for several hours for a second day with little effect./1861
• At a convention in Knoxville, Tennessee, a group of Unionists denounce Tennessee's secession./1861
• Colonel Benjamin F. Kelley with the 1^st Virginia (US) Infantry and units which would become the 2^nd West Virginia Infantry occupies the town of Grafton, in western Virginia, in order to protect the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad line./1861
• Confederates raise the scuttled U.S.S. Merrimack from the Elizabeth River at Norfolk, Virginia, and move it to Gosport's Dry Dock #1./1861

Image by Allen Gathman via Flickr

Gen. Nathaniel Lyon

• At St. Louis, Missouri, US Brigadier General William S Harney is relieved of command of the Department of the West, including Missouri, by Congressman/Colonel Francis P. Blair, Jr. President Lincoln had previously granted authority for Blair to order at his discretion Harney’s removal because of the events surrounding the St. Louis Massacre on May 10-12 and the truce which gave the Missouri State Guard under Sterling Price control of the state leaving only St. Louis under Federal control. Nathaniel Lyon, whose arrogance and insubordination to Harney caused the St. Louis Massacre, is promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers and assigned command of all the Union forces in Missouri. That is how things roll in the Lincoln Administration./1861
• United States Secretary of War Simon Cameron today sends orders to Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler in Maryland confirming what Butler has already been doing without permission – classifying Negro slaves under his jurisdiction as “contraband of war” and putting them to work as laborers for the Union army, virtually re-enslaving them. The question has caused a flurry of correspondence, debate and controversy in Washington, with everyone including Lincoln debating the subject./1861.
• President Lincoln asks Atty. Gen. Bates to present an argument to the Supreme Court on behalf of the Administration for the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in the case of Ex parte Merryman. John Merryman is being held at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland, for treason without benefit of the writ of habeas corpus./1861

Related articles

• St. Louis Massacre (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• Martial law in Baltimore, St. Louis (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• Richmond the new capital, St. Louis Riots continue (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• April 21, 1861: Lyon authorized to muster troops (gathkinsons.net)
• May 10, 1861: The Camp Jackson affair (gathkinsons.net)
• April 29, 1861: Lyon seizes the St. Louis Arsenal (gathkinsons.net)
• Deadly Riots in St. Louis; Western Virginia's Rebellion Against Rebellion (civilwardailygazette.com)

Feds occupy Arlington, Ellsworth killed

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Marshall House Inn

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Col. Ellsworth killed

• 13,000 Federal troops quietly cross the Potomac River and occupy Arlington Heights and Alexandria, Virginia, ostensibly to defend Washington. A party from the USS Pawnee (which had been part of the Fox Expedition to Fort Sumter) demanded and received the surrender of Alexandria, Virginia. The Virginia Militia offers little resistance. U.S. Col. Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth (age 24) of the 11th New York Fire Zouaves is killed in the Marshall House Inn in Alexandria, Virginia, after he and his men attempt to remove a Confederate flag from the hotel roof. The hotel keeper, James Jackson, shoots Ellsworth who then in turn is shot by Union soldier Francis E. Brownell. Ellsworth is generally regarded as the first officer killed on duty in the War between the States, but both sides now have martyrs for their causes. Learning of Col. Ellsworth’s death through a War Dept. telegram, Lincoln weeps openly over death of his young friend. Later he and Mrs. Lincoln drive to the Washington Navy Yard to view his body./1861 
• Major General Joseph E. Johnston arrives at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, to take command of the Confederate Department of the Shenandoah. Up to this time Virginia Militia Colonel Thomas J. Jackson has been in command. The transition of power will take power on June 8./1861

• In Missouri, Sterling Price refuses to disband his troops./1861

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Cartoon about slaves at Fort Monroe

• US Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler holds three slaves at Fort Monroe, Virginia. He uses the term "contraband" to describe slaves who have crossed into the Northern camps and wants to use them for laborers himself. The issue of whether slaves can be classified contraband of war becomes increasingly controversial, and Secretary of War Simon Cameron will ultimately have to rule on it./1861

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• 11th New York Fire Zouaves arrive in Washington (wbts-calendar.blogspot.com)
• May 9, 1861: Zouaves in Washington (gathkinsons.net)
• "Went into the East Capitol grounds where the Zuave Regt (Col Ellsworths) was on parade. They are a hard looking set (NY Fire man)." - Horatio Nelson Taft (dotcw.com)
• "I was at Willards tonight when the NY Zuaves Col Ellsworth Regt marched up the "Ave" to the War department...," - Horatio Nelson Taft (dotcw.com)
• Way Back Machine | The Zouaves Depart (cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com)
• The Fire Zouaves Arrive in Washington; Fort McHenry's No Good (civilwardailygazette.com)