April 30, 1863---The Battle of Chancellorsville: Day One

APRIL 30, 1863:        

The Battle of Chancellorsville (Day One):

Chancellorsville is a crossroads in Virginia, where stood, in the 19^th Century, the Chancellor Inn, owned by the Chancellor family.  This lost crossroads became the locus of one of the most complex, bloody, brutal, costly, and major battles of the Civil War.

The Battle of Chancellorsville had its genesis on April 27th, when Major General Joseph Hooker U.S.A. led three army corps on a campaign to turn the Confederate left flank by crossing the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers above Fredericksburg, Virginia, and circling around the Confederate army. The Federals concentrated most of their 135,000 men near the small hamlet of Chancellorsville on April 30th. A smaller force remained near Fredericksburg, both to take the town and to act as reserve. The first engagements began on this day. 

April 29, 1863---The Battle of Grand Gulf, Mississippi

APRIL 29, 1863:        

The Battle of Grand Gulf, Mississippi: 

As part of his Mississippi River Campaign, U.S. Grant orders Rear Admiral David D. Porter to lead seven ironclads in an attack on the fortifications and batteries at Grand Gulf. The attack by the seven ironclads began at 8:00 am and continued until about 1:30 pm. During the fight, the ironclads moved within 100 yards of the Rebel guns and silenced the lower batteries. The upper batteries continued to fire. Unable to easily secure the river passage, Grant disembarked his river troop transports and marched them overland to Bruinsburg, using the river battle as cover for his movements. Although Grand Gulf is considered a tactical Confederate victory, it was a strategic loss; Grant advanced.

April 28, 1863---Choctaw Bayou falls to the Union

APRIL 28, 1863:         

The Fight At Choctaw Bayou. A Federal reconnaissance troop attached to U.S. Grant’s forces drives Confederate troops from Choctaw Bayou, Louisiana. 

April 27, 1863---a blue Saltire

APRIL 27, 1863:         

 Major General Simon Bolivar Buckner, C.S.A. assumes command of the Confederacy’s Department of East Tennessee.

April 26, 1863---The Battle of Cape Girardeau

APRIL 26, 1863:         

The Battle of Cape Girardeau, Missouri: 

As part of his overall Mississippi River Campaign, U.S. General U.S. Grant built four forts around the town of Cape Girardeau, Missouri in the southeastern part of the State. 

The battle began when Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke C.S.A. entered the area with 5,000 men and attempted to take the town. Union forces (around 4,000) engaged in reciprocally ineffective cavalry charges with the Confederates, who withdrew once the forts began a concentrated bombardment. 

Although total casualties numbered less than 20 total, the battle is considered pivotal, since Confederate forces in the southeast withdrew from Missouri into Arkansas, turning over effective control of the State’s river frontier to the Union.