March 12, 1864---The Start of The Red River Campaign

MARCH 12. 1864:       

The Red River Campaign begins. It is the largest joint Army-Navy operation of the war, the brainchild of General Henry W. Halleck, who wants to take Shreveport, Louisiana along with its foundries and docks and supply depots. The fall of Shreveport will bring about the fall of Confederate-held Louisiana and will mean the capture of the Headquarters of the Confederacy’s Department of The Trans-Mississippi.

It is also a precursor to the planned invasion of Texas, which, to date, has not been entered in force by the Union except in the northern panhandle, along the Rio Grande frontier, and in coastal enclaves.

On this day, General Nathaniel P. Banks, U.S.A. begins moving 17,000 troops against Alexandria, Louisiana.

March 11, 1864---Pickett's Charged

MARCH 11, 1864: 

Under the headline “Military Despotism in The State,” The New York Times reported on the hangings of 53 Union POWs by the formerly dashing and dandified General George Pickett C.S.A. after Pickett’s failed attempt at defending New Bern, North Carolina on February 1st. The 53 men were members of the U.S. 2nd North Carolina. Unfortunately for these men, Pickett, on an ad hoc inspection tour, recognized several of the men, who had previously been in Confederate North Carolinian units under his command.  

Beyond fury at having been defeated (again) by the Yankees, and especially enraged at these turncoats, Pickett ordered all North Carolina Unionists hanged wherever they might be. Of course, this emotional order could not be carried out in toto, but the general impossibility of fulfilling Pickett’s order did nothing to help these specific prisoners. Two were hanged on February 5th; eighteen were hanged on February 12th, and 13 more were hanged on February 15th. Of the twenty others, only two, one a Union soldier-turned-informer, and the other, an “imbecile,” were ultimately spared. To increase their torment and inflict a lesson on any men in gray who might have otherwise considered deserting, Pickett hanged the men not in groups but slowly, one by one, in front of his assembled units. Afterward, most of his men dared to openly criticize their General, who, up to that point, had been a popular commander. 

Pickett’s hysterical reaction to his defeat at New Bern and the measured cruelty of the executions was criticized by everyone, North and South. Pickett’s actions played a large part in the decision to suspend Prisoner Exchanges in April 1864. Desertions from Pickett’s units skyrocketed, and North Carolinian Unionist ranks swelled. By hanging these men, Pickett probably did more to bolster the Union cause than any other Confederate General during the war. 

After the Civil War ended, a group of former Confederate officers (including several ex-Generals) brought War Crimes charges against Pickett. Although Pickett asked Robert E. Lee to speak in his defense, Lee, fully knowledgeable about the hangings, refused to help his former subordinate. Pickett was convicted in absentia, and fled to Canada. Ultimately, he was pardoned by President Ulysses S. Grant, returned to Virginia, and died of the effects of extended alcoholism in 1875.  

   

March 10, 1864---A General Partnership

MARCH 10, 1864:     

General Grant left Washington D.C. to travel to Virginia where he conferred with all of his subordinate commanders. He spent especial time with General Meade, delineating their separate roles. This was crucial, as Grant would be traveling with the Army of The Potomac and leading it in battle, while Meade, now his subordinate, would be in day-to-day command. In the end, they worked out a joint-command structure which became one of the most successful military partnerships of the war. 

March 9, 1864---"I shall Command from the field."

MARCH 9, 1864:       

In a formal ceremony, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant received command of all Union armies. Although most people expected him to be a desk commander in D.C., he surprised everyone by announcing that he would “command from the field” at the head of the Army of The Potomac. Although most Washington politicians believed that this would mean the dismissal of George Meade as Commander of the Army of The Potomac, Grant retained him in this role; Grant, however, “kicked Henry Halleck upstairs” by making him Chief of Staff; “Old Brains” would have direct command of neither troops nor officers.   Lieutenant General Grant also announced that his primary goal was the destruction of the Army of Northern Virginia. This marked the first time that there was an overarching strategy to the war in the field, other than just generally “winning” or “preserving the Union.”