July 29, 1863---John "Bull"

JULY 29, 1863:           

Fading Confederate hopes for international recognition are dashed when Queen Victoria announces that there is “no reason to depart from the strict neutrality which Her Majesty has observed from the beginning [of the war],” even though official British neutrality had, if anything, been strictly pro-Confederate to this point. 

July 28, 1863---The Battle of Stony Lake

JULY 28, 1863:           

The Battle of Stony Lake, Dakota Territory (now North Dakota). A large force of Sioux warriors attempt to probe Union lines, and are repulsed with light fighting. The Sioux continue their retreat across the Dakota Territory, with U.S. forces in pursuit.

July 27, 1863---The Death of William Lowndes Yancey

JULY 27, 1863:           

Confederate fire-eater William Lowndes Yancey, who had been considered for the Provisional Presidency of the Confederacy in 1861, dies in Montgomery, Alabama. A radical secessionist and States’ Rights advocate, Yancey, as Senator from Alabama, spent most of the war vehemently opposing the wartime “arrogation of power” by the central government of the Confederacy.

July 26, 1863---The Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake; The Death of Sam Houston

JULY 26, 1863:          

The Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake, Dakota Territory (now North Dakota). 

Union General Henry Hastings Sibley attacks retreating Sioux near Dead Buffalo Lake. When the Sioux withdraw without putting up more than token resistance, Sibley’s forces continue to pursue them (Henry Hastings Sibley U.S.A. should not be confused with Henry Hopkins Sibley C.S.A..  The two men were cousins.)

On this same day, Virginia-born Sam Houston (1793-1863), former Governor of Tennessee, adopted Cherokee, President, Governor and “Father of Texas,” and unwavering Unionist, dies in Huntsville, Texas in internal exile. Houston had been removed from the Governorship of Texas by pro-Confederate politicians after he refused to break faith with the United States.  Houston, though a slave owner, had opposed the expansion of slavery and opposed the establishment of the Confederacy. Given his role in establishing Texas, his treatment at the hands of Texas’ leaders was shameful.

July 25, 1863---Through the eyes of Robert E. Lee...

JULY 25, 1863:           

From the field via letter, General Robert E. Lee submits his report on the Battle of Gettysburg and its aftermath to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. It is the first detailed documentation of the battle ever written.