August 9, 1864---The Explosion At City Point; Lincoln's Lucky Hat

AUGUST 9, 1864: 

The Explosion At City Point: 

General Ulysses S. Grant U.S.A. is headquartered at City Point (today Hopewell), Virginia. City Point, at the confluence of the James and Appomattox Rivers, is the main disembarkation point for fresh troops and supplies in the Virginia Theatre, as well as being the major railhead.

Around midday, City Point is rocked by a huge blast when a lighter carrying munitions explodes during offloading at wharfside. The roar can be heard across the Virginia countryside, and observers 40 miles away see a plume of black smoke ascend into the heavens. Most observers assume that another Union detonation similar to the one at The Crater has destroyed either Petersburg or Richmond.

30,000 artillery shells detonate along with 75,000 rounds of small arms ammunition that begin popping off like deadly firecrackers all through the day. The wharf is utterly destroyed.

According to The New York Times every frame house in town is jarred, and the plasterwork drops from the ceilings and walls. The explosion sinks several light ships and destroys a number of wharfside buildings. 

The death toll is put at 300: “Several barrels of human remains were sifted from the wreckage.” 

The damage is estimated at U.S. (1864) $4,000,000.

Grant writes:

Every part of the yard used as my headquarters is filled with splinters and fragments of shell . . .”

According to another report, “Such a rain of shot, shell, bullets, pieces of wood, iron bars and bolts, chains and missiles of every kind was never before witnessed.”

After the war, documents discovered and entered into the Official Records uncover the fact that the explosion had been an act of sabotage. Confederate Secret Service agent John Maxwell had smuggled a time bomb, which he called a “horological torpedo” aboard the ammunition barge, inside a box marked "candles."

The attempt to end the Union’s war effort does not end there. One night this month (the exact date is not known) President Lincoln is riding alone down the road to Soldiers Home when a shot rings out. His horse bucks and runs in fear, and Lincoln loses his plug hat in the road.  When he finds it the next morning in the road it has bullet holes in the crown. Lincoln makes light of it, blaming it on a careless hunter. He tells his friend and bodyguard Ward Hill Lamon:

Last night about eleven o'clock, I went to the Soldiers' Home alone, riding Old Abe, as you call him, and when I arrived at the foot of the hill on the road leading to the entrance to the Home grounds, I was jogging along at a slow gait, immersed in deep thought, contemplating what was next to happen in the unsettled state of affairs, when suddenly I was aroused --- I may say the arousement lifted me out of my saddle as well as out of my wits --- by the report of a rifle, and seemingly the gunner was not fifty yards from where my contemplations ended and my accelerated transit began. My erratic namesake, with little warning, gave proof of decided dissatisfaction at the racket, and with one reckless bound he unceremoniously separated me from my eight-dollar plug hat, with which I parted company without any assent, express or implied, upon my part. At a break-neck speed we soon arrived in a haven of safety. Meanwhile I was left in doubt whether death was more desirable from being thrown from a runaway federal horse, or as the tragic result of a rifle-ball fired by a disloyal bushwhacker in the middle of the night . . . Now, in the face of this testimony in favor of your theory of danger to me, personally, I can't bring myself to believe that any one has shot or will deliberately shoot at me with the purpose of killing me; although I must acknowledge that I heard this fellow's bullet whistle at an uncomfortably short distance from these headquarters of mine. I have about concluded that the shot was the result of accident. It may be that some one on his return from a day's hunt, regardless of the course of his discharge, fired off his gun as a precautionary measure of safety to his family after reaching his house . . . I tell you there is no time on record equal to that made by the two Old Abes on that occasion. The historic ride of John Gilpin, and Henry Wilson's memorable display of bareback equestrianship on the stray army mule from the scenes of the battle of Bull Run, a year ago, are nothing in comparison to mine, either in point of time made or in ludicrous pageantry." My only advantage over these worthies was in having no observers. I can truthfully say that one of the Abes was frightened on this occasion, but modesty forbids my mentioning which of us is entitled to that distinguished honor. This whole thing seems farcical. No good can result at this time from giving it publicity. It does seem to me that I am in more danger from the augmentation of an imaginary peril than from a judicious silence, be the danger ever so great; and, moreover, I do not want it understood that I share your apprehensions. I never have. 

 

August 8, 1864---Civil War? What Civil War?

AUGUST 8, 1864: 

The Battle of The Badlands. Union troops battle Lakota (Sioux) in the Nebraska Territory.  About a score of Euro-Americans are killed. The Lakota lose 100 + braves. 

 

While Union troops are fighting the Lakota in the Nebraska Territory, Confederate troops engage a raiding party of thirty-five Comanches in Eastland County, Texas. The Indians manage to escape, although the Euro-Americans seize their horses and food stocks. 

August 7, 1864---Another war on the frontier

AUGUST 7, 1864:

The Battle of Moorefield, West Virginia:

Jubal Early’s cavalry raids the town of Moorefield, West Virginia, but is driven off by the Union garrison there. As they withdraw from the town, a Union cavalry force tasked with destroying them launches a surprise attack on the flank. Although the battle itself is small, Early loses 500 men to the Union’s 40.

The Cheyenne War of 1864:   

In the Nebraska Territory, the diversion of even the most basic sustenance materiel away from the Indian Reservations to the Civil War has worsened the already terrible conditions under which the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes are living. Starving, without shelter, and forbidden to leave the Reservations to hunt buffalo to feed their families, illicit bands of braves begin a retaliation campaign against the white man by attacking stagecoaches and settlements along the Oregon Trail. Sometimes aided by the powerful Sioux, the most severe attacks were along the upper Little Blue River in Nebraska, where about 100 people were killed. 38 died at Oak Grove. Teamsters were killed, wagon trains burned, and ranches were destroyed. Most settlers fled to Fort Kearny on the Platte River for protection. On this day at a place called "the Narrows," the Eubanks families were attacked. Seven men were killed. Mrs. Eubanks and Miss Laura Roper and two of the Eubanks children were taken prisoner and held captive for months. Sadly for the Indians, these raids, undertaken out of sheer desperation, would later provoke the atrocities of the Washita River and Sand Creek Massacres.  

 

August 6, 1864---The Battle of Utoy Creek

AUGUST 6, 1864: 

The Battle of Utoy Creek: The Army of The Ohio attempts to cut the rail line leading out of Atlanta along Utoy Creek. Although the Union is unable to cut the line the Confederacy is unable to drive off the attacking force.

August 5, 1864---"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"

AUGUST 5, 1864:  

The Battle of Mobile Bay: 

With Fort Gaines under assault from the landward side, Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut leads a Union fleet against Mobile Bay, the largest remaining Confederate port on the Gulf of Mexico, and the major blockade-running port on the Gulf Coast. Holding on to Mobile is crucial for holding on to the Confederacy’s Southern tier. 

The harbor is protected by the outlying and under-attack Fort Gaines, Fort Morgan with 46 guns, and tiny Fort Powell. Unfortunately, all of the forts have fixed guns that cannot be turned landward and the forts are not positioned to be mutually supportive. Thus, investing Fort Gaines from the land is in effect, kicking in the front door to Mobile. The main remaining defenses of the harbor consist of mines (called “torpedoes”) anchored in the mouth of the bay. Along with the torpedoes, the Confederacy has three small sidewheelers, the C.S.S. SELMA, the C.S.S. GAINES, and the C.S.S. MORGAN, none of which can withstand a concentrated fleet action. 

Fort Gaines

 

Fort Morgan

The only real weapon the Confederacy can bring to bear on the attacking Union fleet is the new ironclad C.S.S. TENNESSEE. The TENNESSEE is 209 feet L.O.A. with a beam of 48 feet. Her plate is six inches thick. She carries 2 7-inch Brooke rifles and 4 6-inch Brooke rifles, and a wicked ram. She represents the main Confederate force against the Union’s 14 sidewheel steamers and 4 ironclad monitors. All the Union vessels have been upgraded, two are “heavy” monitors with extra ironcladding and additional and larger guns, and one wooden ship, U.S.S. BROOKLYN, is outfitted as an experimental minesweeper. 

C.S.S. TENNESSEE

Unfortunately, even with four boilers, TENNESSEE is slow-moving, making not more than 5 knots at best. This disparity in maneuverability allows the monitors to buzz around the TENNESSEE like gnats around an elephant, landing shots all over her. Fortunately, the TENNESSEE is impervious to the blows, and trades fire with the Union ships for three hours until a lucky shot from one of the monitors disables her steering gear. The Union fleet swarms in and batters TENNESSEE with shot at closer range. Eventually, the disparity in numbers tells. TENNESSEE is blasted into submission, and runs out of powder and shot long before the Union fleet does. Farragut demands that the drifting ship strike its colors. The badly damaged ship surrenders, eventually to become the U.S.S. TENNESSEE. 

"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"

Having removed the main seaward barrier to entering Mobile Bay, the Union fleet passes Fort Gaines. Against orders, the U.S.S. TECUMSEH tries to rush the minefield, and gets blown up, losing all but 21 of her crew of 114, including her Captain. This briefly causes the fleet to reduce headway. 

Farragut, who has lashed himself to the mast of his flagship, the U.S.S. HARTFORD the better to maintain a complete view of the battle, contacts Captain James Alden of the minesweeper BROOKLYN by speaking tube: “What is the delay?” Farragut asks. “There are torpedoes in our path,” Alden replies, to which Farragut famously bellows back, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” 

U.S.S. BROOKLYN

The typical Civil War “torpedo” was a pitch-sealed gunpowder barrel or else a conical wooden or metallic container loaded with explosives and anchored to the bottom by a heavy plate anchor. The rode was usually rope, though sometimes chain. The Civil war torpedo was a simple contact mine. 

Luckily for the Union fleet, the BROOKLYN’s improvised “cowcatcher” works, and the ship clears a path for the others. Once inside the bay proper, the Union ships open fire on the forts. Dispirited at the loss of the mighty TENNESSEE, the men at Fort Powell run up the white flag almost immediately. Fort Gaines, already in a precarious state, cannot hold out against the combined land and sea assault of the Union and surrenders several hours later. 

A columbiad gun salvaged from Fort Powell

After the surrender of Fort Gaines, the Union troops involved there are moved to Fort Morgan, and a naval bombardment begins. Although the fort is completely isolated and unable to deter the Union occupation of Mobile Bay, the Confederates inside the fort hold out until August 22nd. 

The Union loses the U.S.S. TECUMSEH and 114 of its crew, along with 40 other men killed and some 200 wounded; roughly 320 men are casualties out of a Union force of 5,500. The Confederacy loses three of its four ships (including C.S.S. TENNESSEE, which becomes a Union vessel), two forts, 1,600 captured, and about 50 men killed or wounded. 

Despite the seizure of the waterway, the city of Mobile itself remains in Confederate hands. However, in order to hold the city, a large number of garrison troops are effectively immobilized who might otherwise have been sent to assist Lee or Hood; thus, the Battle of Mobile Bay has far-reaching implications for the Confederate cause. 

The Battle of Mobile Bay receives intense news coverage in the North and Farragut is lionized for his daring. Union morale, which has been arguably the worst of the entire war, rises dramatically. In the crude polls of the day, President Lincoln’s re-election chances go from nil to fair. Conversely, the South’s morale is devastated by the loss of the harbor, the forts, its newest ironclad, and the fact that Lincoln may yet win re-election. 

An anchor of the U.S.S. HARTFORD on display at Fort Gaines

August 4, 1864---The gold-plated Governor

AUGUST 4, 1864:

Once again, the Union command structure aided the Confederacy by lengthening the war and raising its cost in blood. 

Having by this point reduced C.S. General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee to a defensive-only force, General William Tecumseh Sherman decided to envelop Atlanta. He issued orders to the commanders of the three armies he controlled to flank around the city in the vicinity of Ezra Church. 

It is a simple order, but one of Sherman’s second-level subordinates, a General John Palmer (1817-1900), refused to accept orders from anyone but his official chain-of-command superior, General George Thomas, Commander of The Army of The Cumberland. Palmer’s refusal set off an imbroglio among Sherman’s subordinates. Stepping in, Sherman issued direct orders to Palmer to move his force. Palmer responded by resigning his commission and leaving the war to return to Illinois. 

Sherman undoubtedly had some choice words for the departing ex-General’s back. This delay in acting allowed the Confederates to build an additional ring of earthworks, and when the Union finally did move, 300 men lost their lives who otherwise not might have had to.

Palmer’s is the only example of an officer’s resignation in the middle of a military operation during the history of the United States. 

Perhaps even more bizarre, the histrionic Palmer was restored to rank and later made the Military Governor of Kentucky, a job he attended to while being conveyed in a gold-plated carriage.

A strident Abolitionist, he ordered the emancipation of Kentucky’s slaves by fiat in early 1865 (Kentucky was not bound by the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment was not yet effective). 

President Lincoln never had an opportunity to act on Palmer’s fiat, but former slaveowners and the State Legislature sued Palmer for damages due to loss of property, a series of suits Palmer ignored. 

In May 1865, he undertook a bloody campaign (with the aid of former slaves now enrolled in the Kentucky State Militia) against remnant rebels in Kentucky, driving most of the survivors to the frontier where they numbered among the gunslingers of the Old West. 

Palmer later served as Governor of Illinois, and made a brief, unsuccessful third-party run for the Presidency. 

August 3, 1864---"Force it"

AUGUST 3, 1864: 

Although President Lincoln has great faith in Ulysses S. Grant as his General, the terrible fiasco of the Crater and Jubal Early’s same-day destruction of Chambersburg PA have disturbed Lincoln profoundly. The President doubts he can win re-election in November, and though that would be a personal failure, losing the Presidency while the Union is at a military disadvantage would be an historical disaster. He sends Grant a telegram reminding Grant that he needs to exercise vigilance "every day, and hour, and force it" if he is to win the war before Lincoln leaves office. 

 

Neither Lincoln nor his Confederate counterpart Jefferson Davis is aware that the Confederacy’s Spring of victories is about to end. General Philip Sheridan U.S.A. arrives in the Shenandoah Valley this day spoiling for a fight with Jubal Early C.S.A.; and much further away, General Gordon Granger U.S.A. finally takes the first step to seize control of Mobile (Alabama) Bay from the Confederacy by investing Fort Gaines, one of the harbor fortifications. The taking of Mobile had been on the Union drawing board for a long time, but it had been deferred in favor of the wasted Red River Campaign in Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. 

August 2, 1864---The Two Generals T.W. Brevard

AUGUST 2, 1864:

Colonel Theodore Washington Brevard (d. 1882) was a Southern politician before and after the war, and a Confederate soldier during, whose activities spanned a large geographical area from Florida to North Carolina. Brevard was an anti-secessionist, but when the South went out he followed the crowd. He was present at the Siege of Petersburg and witnessed the Battle of The Crater. Afterward, he wrote home to his mother:

The “situation” here is unchanged. The armies occupying the same relative positions held five weeks ago. Grant varied the monotony which had so long “dragged its slow length along” by a few days since exploding a mine beneath one of our batteries. The affair was managed very well and came very near resulting seriously to us but in the end proved a decided disaster to Genl Grant himself. Great secrecy was observed by the enemy relative to the operation, and although they were several weeks in excavating the mine, it was completed through without detection, with several tons of powder. A few days since, it was sprung, a little after good day-light. The battery was destroyed and the men in it blown up. The enemy poured in through the breach in large numbers and succeeded in establishing themselves upon a portion of our line. A portion of our division was ordered promptly to the point assailed, and after some obstinate fighting recaptured our works or rather our line—the works being destroyed with a large number of provisions. The slaughter of the enemy was very great. Our Brigade was not engaged in this affair. I visited the scene of the explosion and fight, however, shortly afterwards, and the sight was ghastly enough to have satisfied Abe Lincoln himself. The dead covered the ground more thickly than I have ever seen them elsewhere; the victims of the explosion particularly were mutilated and disfigured beyond description, and the whole spectacle was at once grotesque and horrible.

 
Colonel Brevard was the near-namesake of his father, General Theodorius Washington Brevard (b. 1804), who was also serving in the Confederate States Army during the war. The two Brevards were often confused. Orders for Brevard pere often reached Brevard fils and vice-versa. As the two men did not serve together in the field, this often led to misunderstandings and command delays that vexed their superiors. Even today, historical records sometimes conflate or confuse the two men who had similar civilian careers and who died in relative time proximity (the elder in 1877, the younger in 1882). 

In fact, the confusion may have contributed to Brevard the Younger’s death, as he was taken prisoner in 1864, and was unable (and no doubt unwilling anyway) to give information to his Union captors that they expected him to have. Thus, he was kept in solitary confinement under poor conditions that no doubt shortened his life (he died at age 46). Even more confusing, the captive Colonel Brevard was promoted to General by Jefferson Davis in absentia in 1865. He did not find this out until after his release.



To the credit of his captors, when they discovered they were holding the wrong man, Brevard fils was released on March 31, 1865. He returned to his unit to lead it in combat one last time, on April 6, 1865. 

After the surrender, he was denied the general amnesty and was re-arrested (historians now believe that the arrest warrant, made out for General T.W. Brevard, was for his father, as the Union would not have likely known of Brevard the Younger’s  eleventh hour promotion). 

How ever it was, Brevard spent the balance of April, and May, June, and July in prison before being released for the final time in August. Shortly thereafter, he took up politics again, eventually to become Comptroller of Florida. 

Brevard County, Florida was named for the two men (some sources say one, some the other, so we will say both).

August 1, 1864---Jubal Early in the Shenandoah Valley

AUGUST 1, 1864:      

General Philip Sheridan U.S.A. is given command of the Union Army of The Shenandoah Valley with orders to destroy Jubal Early’s force and take back the Valley for the United States.

  

The Battle of Folck’s Mill:     As General Jubal Early C.S.A.'s forces cross the Potomac back into Virginia, they attempt to cripple the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and burn the bridges over the river. Union forces disrupt their attacks, and Early is pushed back into the Valley having done much less mischief than he intended.