Civil War Chronology
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As of May 1, the city of New Orleans was under the military control of General Benjamin Butler. Many of the business owners, politicians, and aristocratic class of the city were dismayed that New Orleans had fallen so easily to the Union. They openly and/or passively resisted the Union occupation. Men who resisted were dealt with easily. Since the city was under military law, they were arrested and thrown into prison.
The women were a different story. The patriotic Confederate women of New Orleans continually abused Union soldiers. Whenever a Union soldier was seen, they would contemptuously cross streets, flee rooms, cast hateful glances, make derisive comments, spit, or strike with a parasol or cane. A favorite weapon was the contents of the chamber pot emptied from an upstairs window on the head of a passing Union serviceman. One woman emptied a chamber pot on Flag Officer David C. Farragut from her window shortly after the city surrendered. If a chamber pot was chipped or especially ugly, it might be dropped along with its contents.
Many of Butler’s staff urged him to arrest the women but Butler knew that the women were trying to cause an incident that would incite the men of the city to throw off the small Union occupation force. So he used his most powerful weapon, his pen, and issued ...
General Order Number 28.
“As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insults from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall by word, gesture, or movement insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation.”
The LADIES of New Orleans, who were first and foremost SOUTHERN LADIES, were in horror of being considered loose women so they bit their tongues, stuck their noses in the air, and completely ignored the Union soldiers ... which is precisely the result Butler wanted. The real “women of the town” saw an opportunity. They too stopped mistreating the Union soldiers thereby “passing” as ladies and it was also good for their business.
Final result, General Butler tamed the ladies of New Orleans but gained a new nickname to replace his previous nickname of "spoons" (for all the silver looted by Union soldiers). In the eyes of the ladies of New Orleans, he was now General Benjamin “THE BEAST” Butler.
Emmell Journal: Near New Kent Court House May 15th We marched to day until 1 o'clock & expect to stay here over night. We are 4 miles from New Kent Court House. Judge Bruen & myself have put up our shelter tent to keep the rain off of us & have cut some ceder brush to lay on. I have found a piece of rubber blanket & Merritt has given me a wollen blanket & I am going to have a comfortable sleep to night. I miss my blankets &cc which I lost at Williamsbourg but am thankful for not losing my head for it rained bullets there. Our company is getting very small from sickness. Several have died. I saw an Indian sharp shooter laying dead on the Williamsbourg battle field he belonged to the rebels.
Battle of Drewery’s Bluff: A Union naval force including the ironclad Monitor and the gunboat Galena attacked the Confederate Fort Darling which commanded the James River approach to the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia. The Galena was hit several times and it’s light armor pierced. The Monitor’s armor withstood repeated hits from the fort but the Monitor’s guns could not be elevated high enough to shell the fort. The Union force withdrew.
Emmell Journal: Near West Point Va May 12th We left the battle field day before yesterday & marched through Williamsbourg which is about the size of Morristown. We passed several public buildings which were filled with rebel prisoners & a great many rebel wounded all being under a strong guard, they are all dressed in a dirty grey suit. We passed a very fine building which was filled with our wounded which I think has been a asylum for I heard somebody say it was. As we passed through the bands struck up Dixes land, flags were flying & as Gen Hooker rode past us we give him three hearty cheers. Gen McClellan has given orders to make the prisoners we have taken take up the torpedoes that the rebels layed between Yorktown and Williamsbourg. We marched all day suffering very much for water & from the heat, it is as warm here now as July weather in New Jersey, we halted at night having come 15 miles. We started again yesterday marched until noon making 8 miles & encamped in a clover field where we now are. You can hear the reports of a rifle a minute or two they boys are shooting hogs which run loose here in the woods & the provost guard are catching the boys & taking them to headquarters. Several of the Morristown boys belonging to the 2d & 3d New Jersey regiments have been here to day. They say that they had a little brush at West Point which is three or four miles from here. Bob Lamberts battery or rather the one he belongs to lay near us it did good excution in the battle. John Winslow says the battery he belongs to lost 80 horses killed. Gen Paterson had it read to us yesterday when we halted that Norfolk is taken and that the Merrimac has been blown up. The woods commence to look like summer they are full of wild flowers which make them look very handsomely.
Lincoln opens the Union occupied ports of Beaufort, North Carolina; Port Royal, South Carolina; and New Oleans, Louisania to commerce to take effect on June 1, 1862.
Emmell Journal: Battle field Williamsbourg Va May 6th 1862 Some of the boys brought Joe Watkins of the field this morning, Joe said a coupple of rebels come to him & took his revolver & called him a dam Yankee & two others came & give him water & fixed a blanket under his head & that night two rebels under took to take him to their lines when a little picket firing commenced & they dropped him & run. There was 30 shot dead in our regiment & 100 wounded a good part of them mortally so, & we lost a few by being taken prisoners. I forgot to say it rained all day & night of the 5th. We layed arround a fire soaked with rain, I had lost my knapsack & had not even a blanket. I spent a very disagreeable night of it. It is a horrible sight to see the wounded with a leg or arm taken of with a shell, or see the piles of legs & arms around the Doctors field amputating table. The dead of both sides lay all over, the men are busy burying them now. Major Ryerson of the 8th Regiment who was killed was striped of his clothes & bayonetted in several places by the rebels.
Emmell Journal: Battle field Williamsbourg Va May 5th 1862 Awoke very early in the morning finding ourselves nearly flowing away for it had rained since we had layed down. We again started at daylight & marched until 8 oclock through mud knee deep when we came on the enemy. We unslung our knapsacks & formed line of battle. Two companies from the right and two from the left were thrown out as skirmishers. Col Carman gave us orders to lay low which we did. Co A skirmishers were a very few yards from me having been nearly driven to the line of battle. I saw several of them drop, but they were soon driven in by the rebel line of battle advancing when we sprung to our feet & the engagement became general, we drove them back twice. Pretty soon a regiment came up with drab overcoats on which looked very much like one of the regiments in our division, this regiment carried the Stars & Stripes & sung out don’t fire we are Penselvannia boy’s, & when they got to a rifle pit they had dug they fired a volley into us, when we had to soon fall back for want of ammunition, Sickles brigade was then brought in & fought until it was used up too, pretty soon Kearneys division came up, it being almost night the fighting mostly ceased, but Hancock brigade charged on Fort Magruder. Gen Hooker was in thickest of it giving orders, he had a horse shot from under him. Gen Patterson commanding our brigade rode up & down behind our brigade when fighting saying give it to them Jersey Blues. Gen Patterson also had a horse killed under him. Gen Heintzleman our corps General was there, he started all the bands playing yankee doodle while we were on the very eve of being driven out of the woods. The rebels had everything fixed to suit themselves trees fallen, rifle pits dug & a large part of the rebel army to fight our one division. We were in the fight five hours. The rebels shouted Bull Run, Bull Run whenever we would begin fall back, hopping to make a stampede among us. It was one of hand somest sights that I ever saw, when Kearny came up with his division on a doubble quick & filling in the woods, which we were being driven out of by superior numbers & the want of ammunition & the bands playing Yankee Doodle & Kearneys men cheering. Fort Magruder is a very strong fort, the rebels left several cannon in it, there was also cannon army wagons laying along the road between Yorktown & Williamsbourg which the flying enemy had to leave behind as their horses would give out. The wounded in Company K are Capt Brown shot through the jaw. Corp Watkins in breast. Calvin Nix through the neck. Tom Lynch through the shoulder. Slingerland through the leg, these are the dangerous wounds, their are three others wounded slightly. Capt Brown fell while looking for the wounded of Co K or rather he was struck with a minie ball, & was helped of by some of the boys. Lieut Col Carman was wounded. Lieut Johnson of Co C was killed. Lieut Fritzy died of his wound. Lieut Thomson was wounded & carried to Williamsbourg by the rebels & left there as they could not carry him. The Col of the 5th was slightly wounded. The Col & Adjutant of the 6th killed & the Lieut Col of the 7th wounded & the Col of the 8th wounded & the Major of the 8th killed, so it can be seen we have one or two field officers in the 2d Jersey brigade left.
Emmell Journal: Yorktown Va May 4th 1862 This morning we received orders to go and work on No 1 mortar battery, but before we had reached there, we saw the Stars & Stripes flowing over Yorktown. If they had only waited until Monday morning, Gen McClellan was to have opened on them. Of course we returned to camp, but soon received marching orders to be ready to start at a moments notice after the flying rebels. We were soon on our march & passed Yorktown but were very much bothered with torpedoes which the rebels had put in the ground, these torpedoes had wires attached to them, which when a person would stumble over one of these wires the torpedoes would burst killing and wounding every person near it. We marched to what they called the half way house so tired & thirsty we hardly knew what to do, I unslung my knapsack & got a canteen of water. It was now dusk but we marched on until 11 o’clock, when we layed down for the rest of the night.
Emmell Journal: May 3d We were on the advance picket line yesterday, we were all in a deep trench the day time, and at night one company was sent out as videttes. The rebels shelled us all day but only wounded one man in our regiment, he belonged to Company E. It is reported here that New Orleans is taken.
Emmell Journal: Near Yorktown April 30th I will tell you how we worked on the trenches this week, there was a hollow behind where we were at work, in which half of the detail stayed their 2 hours, while the other half were digging. We had to crawl on our hands & knees to get in the trench where had to work & a person had to be very careful while working for if you showed your head whiz whiz would come a minnie. We had Berdans sharp shooters in the trenches with us, one of them shot a darkey sharpshooter belonging to the rebels who was up in a old chimney. In the hollow where the relief stayed also was not a work I saw a citizen, who had come to Yorktown from the North on business, and he came down in this hollow to see the sights before returning North, a spherical case shot was thrown over by the rebels which dropped in this hollow, this citizen run to get it thinking it was only a cannon ball when it exploded, but did not hurt him, though it frightened him most out of his wits. He wanted the shell to add to his collection of war curiosities. We have a great many batteries which have not been opened as yet, & the rebels do not know that we have them as woods hide them from their sight. Gen McClellan is of course not going to cut the trees in front of the batteries until he is ready to make the attack which will be very soon from all appearances. We are under arms every morning at daylight fearing an attack.
Emmell Journal: Near Yorktown April 27th I was on the reserve picket last night to support the 5th Regt who were advanced pickets in case of an attack, one of the 5th Regt was wounded, the pickets fired at eacher other all night and it seems queer that only one person was injured. A rebel deserter, a Irishman came in last night. We can hear the rebel bands & also can see the rebel walking on some of their forts, but the nearest works they dare not show themselves. The road in front of our camp is filled with cavalry, artillery, wagons &cc moving from one place to another. The heavy wagons going back & forwards with provision & forage for the different corps in the army. The last two nights I have been on picket & most likely will have to go tonight again. Our Sharpshooters & the rebel Sharpshooters keep up a continual fire at every person who shows their head. The rebels have some old chimneys of houses which have been burnt that their Sharpshooters get in & shoot from & our men have a job to hurt them. We have deserters from the rebels every night. Jim Boyd of Duryes Zouaves & John Winslow & Bob Lambert belonging to batteries are encamped very near us & I often see them.
Fifth day of the bombardment of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip. When will the shelling stop?
Emmell Journal: Near Yorktown Va April 23d We left our old encampment yesterday. We are now encamped in a peach orchard belonging to the rebel Gen Macgrouder. His house is near it is used for a hospital. It was raining very hard when we came here yesterday & the water was several inches deep where we had to pitch our little shelter tents. I have been in the field where Cornwalis surrendered to General Washington. Yesterday, Capt Francine had charge of a detail of the 7th regiment (I was one of them) to go to work on the entrenchments. Capt Francine thought he was going the right but was making straight for a rebel fort, he got turned around coming through a woods, an aid happened to be near scouting around the rebels works & saw us & told Capt Francine of his mistake & directed us where we were ordered to go. The rebels saw us coming & did not fire expecting to get us a little neared & then capture us.
Note that many men in the Union army were admirers of George Washington. He died in 1799 (about 62 years prior to the start of the Civil War) and was remembered by many Grandparents and parents of the soldiers.
Flag Officer David Farragut orders his 19 mortar barges to bombard Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip which are guarding the southern approach to New Orleans on the Mississippi River. The Battle of New Orleans begins.
Emmell Journal: Cheesman’s Creek York County Va April 19th. Tomorrow we go to the entrenchments before Yorktown. Lieut Mullory, Sergeant Connentt & Corporal Watkins have returned from recruiting service. We are greatly anoyed with wood ticks. Our troops are digging entrenchments on the same ground which Gen Washington did in the revolutionary war. The 2 New Hampshire had skirmished the other night & lost 37 men.
Emmell Journal: Poquosin flats York County April 17th. We leave Poqusin flats for Yorktown today.
Emmell Journal: April 16th. We will likely move further towards Yorktown tomorrow, we have drilled a good deal since I wrote last.
Confederate Congress calls into military service every white man 18-35 for 3 years service, its first Conscription Act
Slavery abolished in District of Columbia by act of Congress. Fast forward 150 years: This is now a holiday in the District of Columbia. Since income tax returns cannot be due on a holiday, the filing deadline in 2012 is April 17 allowing millions of taxpayers to procrastinate one more day.
Emmell Journal: April 13 Eight of us under Corp. Borroughs from Co K were sent out to build roads.
Emmell Journal: Poquosin flats York County April 11th. There are plenty of oysters here we get them up with oyster rakes which we borrowed from a house near here, & in which lives a young secesh girl dressed in the La Zouave uniform. She says we will never take Yorktown. We have very small tents now called shelter tents which are just big enough to crawl into, we make a sort of bed out of pine boughs.
Fort Pulaski, Georgia, commanding approaches to Savannah, surrenders to Union forces.
Emmell Journal: Poquosin flats York County April 10th. We get off the John Brooks until today having been on board of her 5 days.
Emmell Journal: April 7th The John Brooks arrives at Fort Monroe.
Second day of the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee.
The Mississippi River from the headwaters to Vicksburg is under Union control as Island Number 10 falls to the Union.
First day of the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee.
Emmell Journal: On board the John Brooks, April 6. I was a little sea sick coming across Chesapeake bay, as it was quite rough. I can see the Rip Raps & can also see Sewall’s Point. The Monitor you can see from on deck waitting for the Merrimack to come out again; she is a queer looking boat, it looks like a cheese box with a flag on top of it. There is a French man of war laying along side of her waiting I suppose to see them have another engagement. There are 1300 on board this boat & if a person gets a place big enough to lay down, he is doing well for there is not room for all to lay down.
Seige of Yorktown begins.
Emmell Journal: April 5th We slung knapsacks & start for Rum Point Landing. The 6th New Jersey & Co’s A, E, G & K of the 7th regiment went on board the John Brooks, while the other regiments embarked on the Arrowsmith, State of Maine & Kennabeck the Arrowsmith being flag ship of our little fleet it had Col Star & staff on board who commands our brigade. The transports left Rum Point at midnight of the 5th & went to Ft Monroe in 15 hours, it being a distance of 120 miles.
Emmell Journal: April 4th. Some body came in the tent this morning to see me before I was up and to my surprise I found it was brother George. He had started the day before in a schooner & the river was very rough & so he did not get here yesterday as he had expected. He went to Washington this morning in the mail boat. Adjutant Price is promoted to Major & Lieut McChesney of Co C to Adjutant. Our division has commenced to embark on transports but we will not leave until tomorrow morning.
Emmell Journal: March 30th. Since the 23d there has nothing transpired. We have been kept busy drilling most all the time.
A battle at Kearnstown, Virginia convinces President Lincoln that Washington, DC is in danger of being attacked by Confederate troops. Lincoln orders that Union General Irvin McDowell’s troops remain as part of Washington’s defense.
Emmell Journal: March 23d. We are now in the third corps. Gen Heintzleman commanding. These are 3 divisions in it. The whole Potomac army must have gone down the river, I should judge. All the sick have been sent to the hospital, the signal corps near our camp has left & as soon as some of those vessels get unloaded & come back we will leave Rum Point. Two Captians of our regiment went over the river to Cock Pit & they found 2 men who claimed to be citizens looking for their horses they brought them over, but were afterwards let go as it could not be proved that they were anything more then Varginnia farmers.
Emmell Journal: March 19th. We are packed up & expect to move very soon. Transports go past here loaded with troops all the while. We have had batallion drill this afternoon.
Emmell Journal: March 17th. I have just come off guard this morning & had a rather disagreeable time of it, as it rained all the time I was on. Some of the boys of the regiments that have been across the river, had love letters, pictures &cc of the rebels which they found. The rebel troops that were there, are the 11 Alabama, the S.C. Hamptons Leogin & the Texas Rangers all under the command of Gen Wigfall.
Union General George McClellan begins to move the Army of the Potomac ... the Peninsula Campaign begins.
CSS Nashville, Lieutenant R. B. Pegram, ran the blockade out of Beaufort, North Carolina -- a "Bull Run of the Navy".
Emmell Journal: March 14th. Two companies of the 6th New Jersey have been on a reconnosince over to the 10 gun battery at Shipping Point they marched 7 mile from this battery to a place called Dumfries & raised the Stars & Stripes over the Court House & they saw a small body of rebel cavalry coming towards them so they hid behind buildings & were all ready to empty some of the rebel horsemans saddles, when they came near they but a women in one of the houses signaled to them with her handkerchief to go back which they did. It has been hard for our regiment not to have a chance to go over, they had us in line to go over once, but it was countermanded by an aid saying that we would not be needed.
Union troops under the command of General Ambrose Burnside capture New Bern, North Carolina. New Bern remains under Union control for the remainder of the war making it a staging area for inland expeditions in North Caronina.
Union troops under the command of General John Pope occupy New Madrid, Missouri.
Emmell Journal: March 11th. The enemy seem to have left in a great hurry over the river, part of the 5th & part of the 6th New Jersey & a Mass regiment have been across the river, the rebels had spiked their cannon & left tents &cc behind them. Our fellows caught one rebel belonging to the Texas Rangers. The rebels have log shanties & some tents. On one of their shanties they had shells which kind they sent over by us labeled, sent over by the Yankess, February 27th 1862. Two negroes came over in a boat Saturday & told our men that the rebels were leaving. It is said that Mannases is evacuated.
President Lincoln removes Union General George McClellan as Commander-in-Chief of all Union armies.
Emmell Journal: March 9th. The camp is full of excitement for the rebels are evacuating. I saw the George Page & schooners burning this after noon they have blown up their magazines. I was up on the parade ground & saw one of our small gun boats come up slowly throwing shell at Cock Pit battery until it was very near it & they then dropped a small boat which was filled with marines & made for Cock Pit, & you could see the marines climb the rocks until they reached Cock Pit when they took down the rebel flag & replaced by the Stars & Stripes. The bands are playing Yankee doodle &cc the men are cheering which makes it a rather noisy Sunday. We expect to move & have orders to have 2 days rations cooked.
The CSS Virginia (built on the hull of the USS Merrimack) and the USS Monitor battle in Hampton Roads, Virginia beginning at 9 AM and lasting 2 hours. Both ships withdraw and technically the battle is a draw. All wooden warships are rendered obsolete.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee is called to Richmond by Confederate President Jefferson Davis to be military advisor in Virginia.
Emmell Journal: March 4th. It was five months last Sunday since we left Morristown. There is quite an encampment of signal officers near our camp. They signal by means of flags. There are a great many human bones dug up in this camp, it must of been a burying place.
Emmell Journal: March 2d. Merritt is still quartermaster Sergeant his business is to give out the clothing. Stephen Bruen the Adjutants clerk & Charlie Narn the commissary Sergeant mess with Merritt. We began to have a better view of the rebels now for they are falling the timber around their camps for fuel. This is Charles Co. Chaptico was in St Mary’s County.
Emmell Journal: Feb 26th. Monday night as soon as we came off dress parade we got orders to pack up & lay on our arms, & at 1½ o’clock the next morning we were gotten up & formed in line & marched a half mile & then brought back to camp. I do not know what the officers were trying to get through them. We are expecting to move every day. Lambert & John Winslow have been over to visit Co K again. It is now raining hard & our log house leaks very bad.
Emmell Journal: Feb 23d. I find February in Maryland is like March in New Jersey, wet & muddy. Yesterday was Washingtons birthday. I could hear cannonading at a distance and suppose it was salutes. The rebel keep firing at every schooner that pass their batteries. We have two cannon of English make back of our camp which our artillery boys are going to try on the rebels one of these fine afternoons.
Emmell Journal: Feb 18th. Our Church was opened for the first time to night, it was decorated with holly, evergreens, flags, & the band played sacred music for the occasion. It is a large building about 20 paces in length & about half as wide, it contains three rows for the three relief of guards & a prison & a office for the officer of the guard. This is all on the first floor, & the second story contains a church, band & drum corps room. This building is made of pine logs with the crack filled with clay & the roof is thatched with straw. The doors are made of flour barrels. We have another log building which is used for a bakery & for a blacksmith shop.
Battle for Fort Donelson: Union troops begin the march to Fort Donelson on the Tennessee River.
Emmell Journal: Feb 11th. The rebels have a flag on their pole at Cock Pit battery the first time I noticed it was two or three days ago. Our company was on guard again at the stone house at Rum Point a few days ago & the night we were there, their came a boat load of the 2nd Fire Zoaves after express boxes. They are encamped farther below us still & they had to pass the rebels batteries. I send home a 32 pound solid shot thrown over from Cock Pit a few days ago, it was warm when picked up. The funeral of the division Doctor took place a few days ago they had the 2nd New Hampshire & 1st Mass brass bands who played the Dead March & Gen Hooker & staff Col Sickels & all the staff officers of the division were present.
Battle for Fort Henry: Confederate Fort Henry on the Tennessee River is attacked by by Union gunboats while Union infantry landed a few miles away to make their way overland. The fort, which had not been designed to withstand an infantry assault was largely abandoned except for the men firing the artillery. The Fort surrendered before the Union infantry could reach it. The fall of Fort Henry opened that much of the Tennessee River up to Union gunboats.
Emmell Journal: Our brigade is busy building a road to Rum Point landing. Merritt goes to Washington to day on a 48 hour pass on business.
Emmell Journal: Feb 2nd 1862. The roads are in a very bad condition & it is very hard on the horses to cart our rations from Rum Point where the boats land. One of Co K died the first of the week with measles & we raised 50 or 60 dollars to send his remains home to his mother. His name is Moses Berry. I borrowed Lieut Hillyers field glass & had a fair view of rebels across from us & could see the rebel sentry pacing his beat. I have been very busy the past week. Monday we drilled all day. Tuesday. Tuesday our Company was detailed to build corderoy roads. Wednesday went on guard, come off Thursday at 10 A.M Friday was on police duty. Saturday the whole regiment were building corderoy roads. To day Sunday we have had inspection dress parade & have been bringing in wood to keep our fire through the night.
The ironclad Monitor is launched from Greenpoint, Long Island (see October 25 1861).
Emmell Journal: Jan 26. We have had Sunday morning inspection as usual this morning. Mr Cory is on the parade ground watching the rebels fire at Schooner that is trying to run by Cock Pit Battery; this is some thing new for a civilian to see. At Occoquan Point below here, on the opposite shore, the rebels have another battery also at Onantico Point is a larger battery with 10 guns, manned by Alabama troops. From our encampment all these can seen. Seventeen boys are sick with the measles three from Co K; I was on picket last Monday & it rained all day. We do not have to keep much of a watch except at night. There are three at a post, one stands sentry, one sleeps, and the third has to keep communication with the next post every half hour, of course we each take our turn at the different parts of the duty. The man on sentry has to watch the water, & if a boat comes across to call out, “boat-a-hoy who goes there”, & to arrest those in the boat if they have not the pass word.
Battle of Mill Springs KY.
The Battle of Mill Springs was a Union victory that proved crucial to Union control of Kentucky, an important border state.
Emmell Journal: Jan 12th 1862 The Pensacola (a man of war) has run past the rebel batteries. They fired 100 rounds at her but not injure her any. This morning between 5 & 6 oclock a boat load of rebels came over & when they approached, they were halted by our pickets when they commenced firing drove our pickets from the shore & took 7 men of one the Mass regiments prisoner. It seems strange to me that it takes only a minute for a shell to come across the Potomac which is here a mile & a half you can first see the smoke from their cannon then hear the report & the shell whiring over your head. Two boats coming here from Washington have sunk one having on board dress coats for our regiment. We begin to know some thing of a soldiers life, exposed to cold, for instance the other night I was on guard & it would rain & freeze as it come down; I could only think of myself as a great icicle. We have a very large fire place & keep up a good fire. Our table is made out of on of our express boxes so you see we live quite comfortably. The only trouble is the darkness for we only have one window & that is covered with thin white muslin as we cannot procure glass. The bunks are built on one side of the log house, one on top of the other like berths on a steam boat. The roof is thatched with the tall grass which grows on the banks of the Potomac. The rebels meant to keep the Pensacola at Washington & do not like her getting past their guns safely to Fort Monroe. We now have soft bread beaked in our camp.
Emmell Journal: Camp Revere Jan 11th The ground is very muddy owing to the snow melting. This morning Lieut Hillyer took the company down by the river to drill by a little creek near the river & there saw a schooner frozen fast. The men belonging to it had been obliged to leave it. This shows how cold it is here. O.K. Guerin & myself bunk together now & keep warm since the extra blanket has been sent me. We had quite a time on dress parade night before last. The rebels sent a shell which came very near dropping among the regiment. Dr. Totten arrived here to night to be hospital steward for the regiment.
Emmell Journal: Camp Revere Jan 9th 1862. Our regiment has a brass band now, but it is not a very good one. Lieut Mullory Sergeant Connett & Corporal Watkins go to Morristown on recruiting service.
Emmell Journal: Camp Revere Jan 1st/1862 I have received the nice box of things for my New Year’s dinner. They make us drill today, there no New Years for a soldier.
Confederate Commissioners James Mason and John Slidell board the British ship Rinaldo off Provincetown, Massachusetts. With their departure, the Trent affair which its potential for a serious conflict between the British and American governments is closed.(see December 30 1861).
Confederate Commissioners James Mason and John Slidell are released from prison and transferred to the custody of Lord Lyons (see December 26 1861).
Confederate victory Chustenahlah
About 9,000 pro-Union Creek and Seminole Indians were driven from Chustenahlah in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) into Kansas by Confederate forces.
The United States agrees to surrender the Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell (see December 20 1861).
Emmell Journal: Camp Revere Dec 25th. I think from all appearances, we will stay here some time. Early Monday morning, Company K was sent to Rum Point to guard the stores there for 24 hours. I had a very disagreeable post on the dock, & the water would splash up where I had to stand. We had a great time at camp the other night. The Adjutant rode to the companies & roused the orderly Sargeants & told them that the enemy was crossing the river & ordered them to pack knapsack, & take every thing they had; with in 15 min. from that time we were in line, when Col Revere told us he only wished to see how quickly he could get us in line & ready to leave. We were asleep with our blankets over us when aroused to get up. We are building a log shanty of logs filling the cracks with clay, we will have a fire place in it. Col Revere was reproving a Sergeant the other day & the Sergeant asked Colenol if he wished him to get on his kness to him & for that the Sergeant has been court martialed & his sentence is to cary a log of wood on his shoulder from Sunrise to Sunset for twenty days & to live on bread & water & to have his stripes taken of his arm before the whole regiment & to have $10.00 of pay taken of each month for four months.
Forces under Union General Edward Ord clashed with forces under Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart at the intersection of the Georgetown Pike and Leesburg Pike in the Village of Dranesville. The Confederate infantry suffered 70 or more friendly fire casualties. Union artillery turned the tide against the Confederates who withdrew from the field. Although the battle had no tactical significance, it was the first time the Union had driven the Confederates from the field.
England sends 2 warships to Canada to have forces in readiness in the affair of Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell (see December 19 1861).
Emmell Journal: Camp Revere 20th I have a very bad cold. I was on guard last night which has not been any help to my cold. Capt Willetts of Co H came off picket this morning, bringing a large shell which struck within a few feet of him, but did not burst. There is a Doubleday’s battery in our Div, commanded by Capt Doubleday, who was in Fort Sumpter with Major Anderson.
Lord Lyons, the British Ambassador to the United States, meets with US Secretary of State Seward to convey England’s response in the affair of Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell. England gives the United States 7 days to respond to the demand that the men be released and a formal apology is made to England see December 18, 1861.
Lord Lyons, the British Ambassador to the United States, receives his country’s orders in the affair of Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell see November 29 1861.
Emmell Journal: Camp Revere Md. Dec 16th We have been inspected to day by some of Gen McClellan Staff. Last Sunday Gen Hooker inspected us. We he came to me he turned my knapsack over with his foot & seemed to think that I had to much in it. John Winslow who belongs to the 9th N.Y battery, has been over to see the Morristown boys. I miss the soft bread we had until we left Washington. The creek opposite us is called Occuquan Creek. The rebels continue to fire at every Schooner that passes their batteries but do not often touch them.
Battle of Camp Allegheny (western Virginia).
In December, Forces under Confederate Colonel Edward Johnson occupied the summit of Allegheny Mountain to defend the Staunton-Parkersburg Pike. Forces under Union General Robert Milroy attacked Johnson at sunrise on December 13. Union forces occupied an area of felled timber that resisted Confederate infantry until artillery drove them off with round and canister shot.
Half the city of Charlston, South Carolina is burned in an accidental fire.
The Congress of the Confederacy admits Kentucky to the Confederate States even though most Kentuckians are against that move.
Coastal South Carolina planters their year's crop of cotton to prevent it from being siezed by Union troops.
The Confederate CSS Sumter seizes the whaler Eben Dodge.
Emmell Journal: Camp Revere Dec 8th They call this camp Revere after the Colenol. We commence to see a little more of a soldiers life then we here to fore have. Yesterday we saw a balloon go up & the rebels fired shell at it & also at 2 vessels that passed their batteries. A party of us went over to Smith battery to see Bob Lambert. I saw a shell there weighing 64 lbs which the rebels sent across the river. The battery opened while I was there. The rebel shells all bursted before they reached the objects they fired at. Did you read of the rebel steamer George Page? It is fixed up for a gunboat. She lays in a little creak. I think it is called Quantico Creek with two Schooners which she captured. You can see the masts of the Schooners & the smoke stack of the Page from this side of the Potomac. To the right of this creek is Shipping Point battery where you can see the rebels & talk to them across the river 1½ miles, the water carries the sound. Our men & theirs black guard each across the river. The battery of the rebels across from our camp is Cock Pit battery. Some of the 1st Mass regiment went in a boat partly across the river & wanted the rebels to meet them but they would not do it. A person pretending to be a deserter from the rebels came over & give himself up. They have him under guard, being afroaid lest he may be a spy. We are encamped on the grounds of a Mr Posey. He owns 1200 acres & has quite a village of stone cabins behind his house. His wife & daughter and himself undertook to go across the river to the rebels, a shell from one of our batteries brought them back. Mr. Posey was taken to Washington where he took the oath of allegiance & was sent back to his home to be watched.
Emmell Journal: Dec 6th We only came 2 or 3 miles & are fixing up a camp as if we would stay here a little while. Our camp is on a side hill & we are leveling it & diging gutters &cc. We leave the tress stand in front of our camp so the rebels can not see where we are encamped for their battery is right in front of us on the Varginnia side & they can shell us.
Emmell Journal: Lower Potomac Md. Dec 5th. Bob Lambert was over here yesterday; he says that we have a large force of Cavalry, Artillary, & Infantry about 5 miles from here where his battery is parked & that when our whole brigade arrives there will be 19000 men here under Gen Hooker, composing Hooker's Division. This is a green looking country, the little pine trees are very thick being so close together that a rabbit could scarcely run through them. I am on guard to day; we stay on 2 hours then are off 4 so we are on 8 hours in 24. I saw Gen Hooker for the first time this morning. The order has come to strike tents.
Queen Victoria prohibits all exports to the United States including armaments or materials for their production.
Emmell Journal: December 3 Lower Potomac. Dec 3rd. We struck tents last Monday morning, packed up & received one days rations & marched for the Potomac & stayed there until dark when the whole regiment were packed in a single boat. I was in the hole of the boat & there was a good part of the regiment drunk they commenced fighting & striking at every body in general. They wanted to get on deck but it was not allowed & they tried to pull down the ladder that went up on deck. We lay at the dock in Washington until morning when we started down the Potomac & landed within a few miles of Port Tobacco; we then marched 9 miles to a place called Rum Point where the boat which we came on, arrived with our knapsacks & officers baggage. They did not wish to pass the rebel baterries with so many on board as the rebels might sink the boat so they marched us around here. At the landing there are boats coming & going from Washington. After reaching here we made coffee & eat some hard tack & then went to look for our knapsacks but I could not find mine until the next morning. Somebody had taken it for theirs in the dark.
US Gunboat Penguin seizes the Confederate blockade runner Albion. Nearly $100,000 of war supplies are taken.
In a letter to the US, England expresses its displeasure with the seizure of Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell, demands their release, and an apology. The British Navy is put on alert (see November 27).
Missouri admitted to Confederacy despite its not having seceded.
Word of the Trent affair reaches England. Headlines reading “Outrage on the British Flag” appear in the London newspapers (see November 24).
In Wheeling (western Virginia), a convention adopts a new constitution calling for the formation of the State of West Virginia.
The Confederate warship CSS Sumter seizes a Union ship in the Atlantic.
The Confederate Navy begins conversion of the captured USS Merrimack, now named the CSS Virginia, to an ironclad.
The Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell are arrive at the prison in Fort Warren, Boston Harbor (see November 14).
The USS San Jacinto carrying Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell arrives at Fort Monroe (see see November 8).
In the evening, President Lincoln calls on Union General in Chief McClellan at his home. McClellan retires for the night without acknowledging the President.
Fingal (later CSS Atlanta), purchased in England, entered Savannah laden with military supplies -- the first ship to run the blockade solely on behalf of the Confederate government.
Thaddeus Lowe made balloon observation of Confederate forces from Balloon-Boat G. W. Parke Curtis anchored in Potomac River.
Trent Affair begins when James M. Mason and John Slidell, Confederate Commissioners to Great Britain and France, are taken from British mail packet Trent by Federal warship San Jacinto, Charles Wilkes captain, precipitating a crisis with Great Britain.
Naval forces under Flag Officer S. F. Du Pont captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina. The action places Union troops in a strategically critical area between Savannah and Charlston on the South Carolina coast..
Union General John C. Fremont removed from command by the President for insubordination and incompetence (see August 30 1861).
Union General George B. McClellan appointed general-in-chief of U.S. Army to succeed General Winfield Scott.
Union General-in-Chief of the United States Army, Winfield Scott, resigns voluntary.
The keel of the U.S.S. Monitor is laid in Greenpoint, Long Island (see October 4 1861).
Union victory Camp Wildcat
Kentucky was a border state, officially neutral in the conflict between the Union and the Confederacy. Early on the morning of October 21, Confederates from Tennessee who had marched through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky along the Wilderness Road, clashed with Union forces under Brigadier General Albin Scheopf. The Union troops had the advantage of natural and man made fortifications and, after a day-long battle, repulsed the Confederates. That night, the Confederates retreated back into Tennessee and Kentucky’s status as a neutral was retained.
Confederate victory Ball's Bluff
Union General Charles Stone sent a small scouting party across the Potomac River in the vicinity of Leesburg, Virginia on the evening of October 20, 1861. After a sharp encounter with Confederate troops, Col. Edward Baker, a U.S. Senator, took command of the field and immediately began gathering troops to reinforce the men on the Virginia side of the river. The delay gave Confederate commanders time to organize their forces. In a spirited attack, Colonel Baker fell with a mortal wound. A complete rout ensued and the triumphant Confederates drove the Yankees over the bluff and into the Potomac river. The death of Baker, the only U.S. Senator ever to be killed in battle, led Congress to establish the Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, which would lead Union commanders to second-guess their decisions for the rest of the war.
Charles Slidell, Confederate Commissioner to France and James Mason, Confederate Commissioner to England slip past the Union blocade on the Confederate ship Theodora. This is the first step in a series of events that nearly leads to war between England and the Union. .
Confederate forces are rebuffed in an attack on Union held Santa Rosa Island, Pensacola Bay, Florida.
The Union Navy Department approves a contract with John Ericsson to build ironclad warships including the USS Monitor.
The Confederacy signs treaties with the Cherokee, Shawnee, and Seneca Indian tribes. Indians are recruited for the Confederate Army.
Confederate naval forces capture the Union steamer Fanny in Pamlico Sound with Union troops aboard.
Heyward Emmell enlists in Company K, 7th Regiment, NJ Volunteers. The catalyst for his action is not known. Many men enlisted at torch light rallies filled with flags and bunting where bands played, local dignitaries and politicians made patriotic speeches, and young women applauded the brave boys who signed up. Young women were early supporters of the war. They sang a song, “I Am Bound To Be A Soldier’s Wife Or Die An Old Maid”.
Note from Captain James Brown (who placed the Jerseyman ad on September 21) to Colonel Ezra Carman. Colonel Carman is at Camp Olden near Trenton NJ, the staging area for the 5th, 5th, 7th, and 8th NJ Regiments The letter reads:
Morristown Sept 25th 1861
Col E. A. Carman
Dear Sir
I have now 70 men all the best sort I think. I will be able to report to you on Wednesday next at Camp Olden with full Company. The Boonton Band declined to go at the Government pay but for a little advance will report 18 Musicians first Class.
James M. Brown
This note is in the collection of the New Jersey Historical Society.
James Brown, Chatham businessman and Colonel designate of Company K 7th Regiment New Jersey Volunteers, placed the following ad in the newspaper Jerseyman:
A Morris County Company is now forming for the War, to be commanded by Captain James M. Brown. It is already accepted, and will be attached to Gen. Revere's Regiment. Headquarters on the Public Square. Now is the chance for all who wish to join a Morris Company. Let it be eagerly embraced.
It was eagerly embraced. By the evening of October 1 1861, 101 men had volunteered for Company K.
Battle of Lexington Missouri Conclusion: The Confederates constructed a mobile breastworks from bales of water soaked hemp (water soaked to keep it from catching fire when the Union fired incendiary shells into it). Advancing behind the bales of hemp, the Confederates overwhelmed the Union line giving the Confederates a victory.
Battle of Lexington Missouri Continues: Confederate General Price orders an attack that pushes the Union forces back to their inner perimeter. .
Battle of Lexington Missouri: The pro-Confederate Missouri state Guard marched on Lexington Missouri under the command of General Sterling Price. The Confederate attempt to overrun the Union defenders was thwarted by heavy fighting in the Machpelah Cemetery. General Price then lay siege to Lexington .
Battle of Cheat Mountain Summit (western Virginia):This battle is the first battle of the Civil War in which Confederate General Robert E. Lee lead troops. About 4500 Confederate troops moved against about 1800 well entrenched Union troops defending Cheat Mountain Fort. The Confederate attack was uncoordinated due to the rain, fog, terrain, and dense forest. By September 15, convinced that he was facing an overwhelming force, Lee withdrew.
Battle of Carnifax Ferry (western Virginia): Union Gen. William S. Rosecrans was concerned about a Confederate presence that could control the Kanawha Valley. He led three brigades of infantry into position on the afternoon of September 10, Rosecrans attacked Confederate General John Floyd's position. Fighting continued until darkness. Rosecrans's artillery proved decisive and the Confederate forces retreated at night to the south side of the Gauley River.
Union troops capture Paducah, Kentucky: Kentucky was a border state that declared itself neutral. However, on September 3, Confederate forces entered the western part of the state ending Kentucky’s neutrality. Union troops under the command of General Ulysses Grant sent a force up the Ohio River which entered the city of Paducah without incident. This action gave the Union control of the mouth of the Tenessee River.
Battle of Dry Wood Creek: Union Colonel James Lane and 600 Union cavalry left Fort Scott in southwestern Missouri looking for a rumored force of Confederates. They surprised a 6000 man force under Confederate Generals Sterling Price and James Rains near Big Dry Wood Creek. Although the Union force had the element of surprise, the superior numbers of the Confederates forced them back and lead the the Union abandoning southwestern Missouri.
Major General John Fremont declared martial law in Missouri (a border state), ordered secessionists' property be confiscated, and the slaves emancipated. Fremont's action, taken without consulting President Lincoln, caused wide protests and put Union support in the border states in jeopardy.
Confederate Forts Hatteras and Clark surrender: Two Confederate forts (Forts Hatteras and Clark) were hastily built to protect Hatteras Inlet from Federal attack. Hatteras Inlet was one of the routes to the open sea used by Confederate commerce raiders and blockade runners. The undermanned forts were attacked on August 28 by means of an amphibious landing. By August 29, the undermanned forts succumbed to the naval bombardment. Union Naval Flag Officer S. H. Stringham and Army General B. F. Butler received their unconditional surrender. This victory was significant because it was the first Union victory after the embarrassment of the Union loss at Bull Run, the first amphibious operation, and the first combined Army - Navy operation.
George McClellan assumes command of Army of the Potomac.
Battle of Wilson's Creek or Oak Hills: Union Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon’s Army of the West was camped at Springfield, Missouri, with a larger Confederate force under the command of Brigadier General Ben McCulloch approaching. Lyon split his smaller force and about 5:00 A.M. on the 10th, Lyon, in two columns commanded by himself and Colonel Franz Sigel, attacked the Confederate cavalry on Wilson’s Creek. Confederate reinforcements soon rushed up and held their positions. The Confederates attacked the Union forces three times that day but failed to break through the Union line. Lyon was killed during the battle making him the first Union General to be killed in combat. Meanwhile, the Confederates had routed Sigel’s column, south of Skegg’s Branch. Following the third Confederate attack, which ended at 11:00 am, the Confederates withdrew. Major General Sturgis, who replaced Lyon, realized, that his men were exhausted and his ammunition was low, so he ordered a retreat to Springfield. This Confederate victory buoyed southern sympathizers in Missouri, provided a staging area for a push north that brought Price’s forces as far as Lexington, and gave the Confederates control of southwestern Missouri. .
Lincoln imposes the first federal income tax by signing the Revenue Act. This act imposed a 3% tax on annual incomes over $800.
The first balloon ascent is made from a Union ship. John LaMontain ascends in a tethered balloon from the Union ship Fanny to observe Confederate artillery batteries at Sewell's Point, Virginia.
Battle of Bull Run (aka Battle of Bull Manassas): General Irvin McDowell, commander of the Army of the Northeastern Virginia, was harassed by politicians and the public into attacking the Confederate Army under General Pierre Beaurgard. He led 35,000 Union troops against the 22,000 Confederate defenders near Mannassas Junction, a local railroad hub. McDowell’s slow advance on Manassas allow time for Confederate General Joe Johnston to move his troops to Manassas by train.
It is during this battle that Confederate General Thomas Jackson recieved the nickname “Stonewall”.
The Union forces were pushing the Confederates back until mid-afternoon when additional Confederate reinforcements. The Confederates counter attacked uttering, for the first time, the fearsome “Rebel Yell”. The exhausted Union troops began to withdraw to the Bull Run (river). There, the troops were panicked when a wagon overturned on the one bridge over the river. Many troops threw down their rifles and ran in panic back towards Washington, D.C. On the road, they mingled with civilians, both men and women, and politicians who had come to picnic and view the battle.
Battle of Corrick's Ford in western Virginia. The final battle of a series of battles between General Robert Garnett (Confederate) and General George McClellan (Union). General Garnett was killed, becoming the first general to be killed during the Civil War, and the Confederates abandoned the field of battle leaving the western part of Virginia in Union hands for the duration of the war. This series of battles was instrumental in General McClellan becoming the commander of the Army of the Potomac.
Battle of Rich Mountain in western Virginia. Union forces under the overall command of General George McClellan defeated a Confederate force in a two-hour battle.
Battle of Hoke's Run in western Virginia. Technically a Union Victory, in this action troops under Colonel Thomas Jackson delayed the larger force of General Robert Paterson. Paterson's division halted their advance on the Shenandoah Valley freeing up Confederate troops to later take part in the Battle of Manassas (aka Battle of Bull Run).
Battle of Boonville in Missouri. By defeating the Confederates in this small battle, the Union established control of the Missouri River and helped prevent Missouri from joining the Confederacy.
Battle of Big Bethel in Virginia. Disorganized Union force attacks and is defeated.
The State of Tennessee secedes from the United States. Eleven states have now left the union.
Battle of Philippi, Virginia in western Virginia. This was the first organized (as opposed to the impromptu skirmish at Fairfax Courthouse) land action of the war.
Skirmish at Fairfax Courthouse, Virginia. This was the first land action after the surrender of Fort Sumter.
The State of Virginia secedes from the United States. Ten states have now left the union.
The State of North Carolina secedes from the United States. Nine states have now left the union.
The State of Arkansas secedes from the United States. Eight states have now left the union.
The 6th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment is attacked by a mob in Baltimore, MD.
Lincoln declares a naval blocade of the Confederacy.
Major Anderson surrenders Fort Sumter to the Confederates.
Confederate shelling of Fort Sumter in Charlston Harbor begins.
Abraham Lincoln inaugurated as the 16th President of the United States.
Jefferson Davis inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America.
lst Session of the Provisional Confederate Congress convenes as a convention.
The State of Texas secedes from the United States. Seven states have now left the union.
Kansas is admitted to the United States as a free state.
The State of Louisiana secedes from the United States.
The State of Georgia secedes from the United States.
The State of Alabama secedes from the United States.
The State of Florida secedes from the United States.
The State of Mississippi secedes from the United States.
Star of the West fired upon.
The state of South Carolina secedes from the United States.
Private Heyward Emmell kept a journal during his 3-year enlistment. This chronology has his entries (beginning October 1 1861, time-shifted by 150 years) detailing his experiences in northern Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Notable events from the entire Civil War are also included for content and to emphasize that the war spanned a large geographic area and the high seas. More information about Heyward Emmell is here.
The entries from Emmell's journal in this chronology are transcripts. They represent EXACTLY what he wrote. Spelling, punctuation, capitalization, cross-outs, and lack of paragraph breaks are as he wrote them.
Occasionally in the text there will be a hot link to a further explanation of a word, name, place, or event. Click on the link to get more information.