January 23, 1865---Sam Hood is out; The Battle of Trent's Reach

JANUARY 23, 1865:                    

General John Bell "Sam" Hood C.S.A. is cashiered from command of the broken Army of Tennessee. General Richard Taylor C.S.A., the son of U.S. President Zachary Taylor (the former father-in-law of C.S. President Jefferson Davis), a man who had grown up in the White House, is named to command the once-proud army, which is down to some 5,000 troopers. Taylor begins his tenure as commander by announcing an amnesty for all deserters. His shrunken force is all that is standing in the way of the Union armies and the conquest of inland Alabama and Mississippi. 

 

General Richard Taylor, C.S.A.

The Battle of Trent’s Reach:           

Confederate gunboats from Richmond attempt to force a passage down the James River to the sea with the intention of bombarding the Union HQ at City Point. After three days of exchanging fire with Union forces along the river, the Confederate naval force loses eight of its eleven ships, and turns back for the quays of Richmond. The Confederate capital is bottled up for the remainder of the war.