March 30, 1825

Samuel Bell Maxey born
Confederate General Samuel Maxey is born in Tompkinsville, Kentucky. Maxey served in the West and led Native Americans troops in Indian Territory.

Maxey attended West Point and graduated in 1846, second to last in a class of 59. He was sent immediately to fight in the Mexican War. Although he did well there and fought at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, Maxey resigned his commission after the war to study law in Kentucky. In 1857, he moved to Texas and became active in politics. When the war began, he raised a regiment, the 9th Texas Infantry, and took his unit to fight in Mississippi. Maxey was promoted to brigadier general in March 1862 and his force participated in the Vicksburg campaign before aiding in the defense of Port Hudson, Louisiana. He was fortunate to avoid capture when those locations fell into Union hands, and Maxey was shipped to assist in the Confederate siege of Chattanooga in September 1863.

While there, Maxey received a promotion to commander of Indian Territory. In 1864, he worked to recruit and train members of the Cherokee, Creek, and Choctaw tribes. On April 18, 1864, troops under Maxey's command attacked a Union wagon train at Poison Springs, Arkansas. They routed the federal force, which was led by the 1st Kansas Colored Regiment. Maxey's men proceeded to kill all black soldiers who were wounded or captured.

After the war, Maxey continued to support his Native American friends when he served in the U.S. Senate and was an outspoken advocate of Indian rights. He died in 1895.

1864:  
Nathan Bedford Forrest raids Bolivar, TN

U.S. Civil War Quotes


"Sunday a soldier of Company A died and was buried. Everything went on as if nothing had happened, for death is so common that little sentiment is wasted. It is not like a death at home."
- Elisha Hunt Rhodes, 2nd Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry  


Primary sources:
Official Records of the War of the Rebellion
A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion ; by Frederick Dyer;
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865 by E. B. Long with Barbara Long;
National Archives Guide Index