July 3, 1861---Locomotive breadth

JULY 3, 1861:    

In his retreat from Martinsburg, Colonel Jackson follows orders in burning the bridge crossings over the Potomac, but unlike General Joseph Johnston who also wrecks rolling stock, Jackson decides to appropriate thirteen Baltimore & Ohio Railroad locomotives for use by the South. This strategic decision is a great boon to the Confederacy, which has almost no ability to produce locomotives domestically.

July 2, 1861---The Battle of Falling Waters, Virginia

JULY 2, 1861:  

 The Battle of Falling Waters (The Battle of Hoke’s Run). Union troops cross the Potomac at Martinsburg, Virginia (West Virginia), and engage in a battle with C.S.A. Colonel Thomas Jackson’s cavalry brigade. Jackson engages in a slow tactical retreat, gauging Union troop strength and determination. Casualties are heavy (for this phase of the war) numbering about 100 deaths in total.

July 1, 1861---42,000 Virginians join the Confederate Army

JULY 1, 1861:    

150 artillery, cavalry, and infantry companies from Virginia, comprising 42,000 men, were accepted into service with the newly established army of the Confederate States of America. The State, strongly Unionist as recently as mid-April, has become the powerhouse of the Confederacy.

June 30, 1861---C.S.S. Sumter

JUNE 30, 1861:  

 The C.S.S. SUMTER slips past the U.S.S. BROOKLYN at Head of Passes, Louisiana, and begins a yearlong career of commerce raiding, taking eighteen prizes.      

  

June 29, 1861---Raphael Semmes goes to sea for the Confederacy

JUNE 29, 1861:    

The commerce raider C.S.S. SUMTER is ready for sea, Raphael Semmes commanding. Semmes was to later assume command of the famous blockade runner C.S.S. ALABAMA, and would be both a Confederate Admiral and General by war’s end, the only person in the New World to hold both ranks simultaneously.

June 28, 1861---Rioting in Milwaukee

JUNE 28, 1861:    

On June 24, 1861, the government of Wisconsin suspends several banks’ charters for irregularities and war profiteering, leading to four days of riots in Milwaukee. A number of banks are burned to the ground. The riot is put down on this day 150 years ago by units of the Milwaukee Zouaves. The Milwaukee Sentinel blames the riots on German immigrants, “who do not have a clear idea of any of the recent banking movements.”