April 19, 1864---The Yankee Lieutenant's Woman

APRIL 19, 1864:       

The Nashville Dispatch publishes two brief snippets of news about general war conditions in the city:

 The depots . . . were crowded with refugees and mechanics, the former from below [Southerners], and the latter from above [Northerners], and their destination respectively North and South. Several families of refugees, with an almost unlimited number of flaxen-haired children, left in the train for Louisville yesterday morning.

And on a somewhat lighter note:

Dame Rumor says that before the "snaik man sloped," [sic] a former Lieutenant in the Federal army eloped with the wife of a friend, leaving the disconsolate husband and interesting children to take care of themselves. What the said Lieutenant has done, or intends to do, with his own wife, the good dame is not advised, but promises developments in due course.

Unfortunately for those with salacious appetites, this juicy bit of entertaining, utterly meretricious gossip was all they got of the story. If anyone ever knew what became of the cuckold, the “interesting children,” the lovers, and the dashing ex-Lieutenant’s family, it is lost in the mists of history.   

April 18, 1864---The Battle of Poison Spring, Arkansas

APRIL 18, 1864:          

The Battle of Poison Spring. Union troops near Camden, Arkansas are running short of supplies and 1000 men are dispatched to forage for 5,000 bushels’ worth of corn and other items. As the 200 wagon forage train is returning to Camden it is attacked by 3,600 Confederate troops near Poison Spring. 

The Union troops fight valiantly, but are overwhelmed after the third assault wave. The First Kansas Infantry U.S.C.T. , a unit comprised entirely of emancipated slaves, is singled out by the Confederates for especial attention. Almost all of the 300 Union casualties come from this one unit. None of the former slaves are taken prisoner. Instead, they are targeted, and any who surrender are killed, sexually mutilated and scalped by the Confederates. 

The Washington Telegraph, the newspaper of the Confederate capital of the State, justified the mutilations by declaring, "We cannot treat Negroes taken in arms as prisoners of war without a destruction of social system for which we contend."

Despite the contemporaneous documentation of the killings, in certain quarters, modern Southern apologists deny that the killings took place, or, alternatively, that they were not as brutal and extensive as recorded.      

April 17, 1864---A small bread riot

APRIL 17, 1864:          

The Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina. The C.S.S. ALBEMARLE supports land-based troops in attacking the Union garrison at Plymouth, N.C.

The Savannah, Georgia News reports on a “small” bread riot in the city. 100 Savannah women mob a grocery store, grabbing bread, bacon, and other foodstuffs. The News explains: 

That the present high prices of provisions have provided distress no one can doubt, and it is probable that some who participated in the riotous proceedings of yesterday were goaded to their course by pressure of want, but if we are rightly informed many if not the majority of them, had not even that excuse for the commission of acts of lawlessness. Be this as it may, there can be no necessity or justification for such acts of outrage and robbery. It is not generally the truly worthy deserving poor who resort to such measures, and those who thus set the laws and public propriety at defiance forfeit the sympathy of the community. If there is indeed want and suffering let the sufferers make their condition known in the right quarter, and a community that has never turned a deaf ear to the appeals of the helpless and needy will give them relief.

We trust that our city authorities will investigate this matter, ascertain who   they are that truly need assistance, and take the proper steps for their relief. Such action is not only due to the wives and children of soldiers in the service, to the helpless poor, and to the peaceful and good name of our community, but also to the best interests of our city. While the mob spirit      should be met with firmness, we should, in these times, act in accordance with the maxim of "help one another." Let the turbulent be rebuked, but let not the worthy and law abiding poor suffer. 

Three women are arrested for theft and destruction of property. 

April 16, 1864---146,634

APRIL 16, 1864:         

The United States Department of War announces that it has 146,634 Confederate Prisoners of War in custody.

The POW Camp at Elmira, New York in 1864

April 15, 1864---The Battle of Camden, Arkansas

APRIL 15, 1864:

       

Skirmishes at Camden, Arkansas. The Camden Expedition of the Red River Campaign becomes embroiled in repulsing a series of hit-and-run attacks by Confederate forces that cause the Expedition to grind to a halt. Although the Confederates inflict little damage, Union morale is low and Union supply lines are being stretched too thin.