November 6, 1863---The Battle of Rogersville, Tennessee

NOVEMBER 6, 1863:          

The Battle of Rogersville, Tennessee. Confederate forces launch a surprise attack on the Union-held town of Rogersville, Tennessee. In an intense, but shortlived cavalry duel, the Southerners are able to retake the town, along with the well-stocked Union supply dump. 

Union troops defeat Confederate forces at Droop Mountain, West Virginia. This almost forgotten battle ends Confederate resistance in the new State.

November 5, 1863---"The Yankeees had gained a lot of ground."

NOVEMBER 5, 1863:          

Matt Turner served as Assistant Surgeon in the 22^nd Alabama Regiment. His force was part of Bragg’s Army of Tennessee. In a letter home, Turner admitted that “the Yankees had gained a lot of ground,” and that, though they were not presently engaged, his unit had “not seen the last of this war” and that another gory battle would occur before too long.  Despite Turner’s misgivings, he was always happy to get letters from home, and shared the good news that he had acquired a relative rarity---a tent with a stove and chimney---so that was no longer suffering from chills from sleeping on the ground. 

November 4, 1863---The Skirmish At Motley's Ford

NOVEMBER 4, 1863:          

The Skirmish at Motley’s Ford. On the Little Tennessee River, fifty Confederates are killed or drowned, and 40 are captured, including four officers.

  

General James Longstreet, C.S.A. moves on General Ambrose Burnside U.S.A.’s  works around Knoxville.  A major rail hub, both Lincoln and Davis consider control of Knoxville a major objective of the war. Longstreet headquarters himself at Bleak House (now The Confederate Memorial Hall Museum).

November 3, 1863---Fort Sumter in ruins

NOVEMBER 3, 1863:          

After months of ‘round-the-clock shelling by the Union, Fort Sumter is nothing but a huge heap of rubble. The Union’s Admiral John Dahlgren, however, is dissatisfied: “[S]till, this mass of ruin [Sumter] is capable of harboring a number of the enemy, who may retain their hold until expelled by the bayonet.” Amidst the wreckage is a warren of dugouts and tunnels, and Confederates are using the ruined redoubt effectively to fire upon Union ships even as the Fort itself is reduced to blasted bits. 

November 2, 1863---Edward Everett is asked to deliver the Gettysburg Address

NOVEMBER 2, 1863:          

President Abraham Lincoln is invited to attend the dedication ceremonies of the new National Military Cemetery at Gettysburg later in the month. Although Lincoln is expected to speak, Edward Everett, a famed orator of the day, and Lincoln’s Vice-Presidential opponent on the 1860 Constitutional Union Party ticket, is tapped as keynote speaker.