1808:
Jefferson Davis, the most underappreciated man in the Confederacy, is born in Kentucky.


1861:
Battle of Philippi:
When Confederate troops threatened the B&O at Grafton the federal government quickly moved troops into the area. On the night of June 3, 1861, the first land battle of the Civil War involving organized troops took place at Philippi, about 15 miles south of Grafton. Some 3,000 federal troops under the general command of Major General George B. McClellan and the immediate command of Colonels Benjamin F. Kelley and Ebenezar Dumont drove about 800 Confederates under Colonel George A. Porterfield from the town. While no one was killed in the battle, the Confederates suffered several severe wounds necessitating the first amputations of the Civil War, one each by Union and Confederate surgeons. The Northern victory stiffened Unionist resolve in western Virginia.

Stephen A. Douglas dies from typhoid fever, Chicago, IL




1862:  
Skirmish on James Island, South Carolina

Skirmish at Mount Jackson, Virginia

Confederates evacuates Fort Pillow, Tennessee


1863:  
Engagement at Simsport, Louisiana

Skirmish near Murfreesboro, Tennessee


1864:  
Action at Haw's Shop and skirmish near Via's House, Virginia

Skirmish near Neosho, Missouri

Union disaster at Cold Harbor
On this day, Union General Ulysses S. Grant makes what he later recognizes to be his greatest mistake by ordering a frontal assault on entrenched Confederates at Cold Harbor. The result was some 7,000 Union casualties in less than an hour of fighting.

Grant's Army of the Potomac and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had already inflicted frightful losses upon each other as they wheeled along an arc around Richmond—from the Wilderness to Spotsylvania and numerous smaller battle sites—the previous month.

On May 30, Lee and Grant collided at Bethesda Church. The next day, the advance units of the armies arrived at the strategic crossroads of Cold Harbor, just 10 miles from Richmond, where a Yankee attack seized the intersection. Sensing that there was a chance to destroy Lee at the gates of Richmond, Grant prepared for a major assault along the entire Confederate front on June 2.

But when Winfield Hancock's Union corps did not arrive on schedule, the operation was postponed until the following day. The delay was tragic for the Union, because it gave Lee's troops time to entrench. Perhaps frustrated with the protracted pursuit of Lee's army, Grant gave the order to attack on June 3—a decision that resulted in an unmitigated disaster. The Yankees met murderous fire, and were only able to reach the Confederate trenches in a few places. The 7,000 Union casualties, compared to only 1,500 for the Confederates, were all lost in under an hour.

Grant pulled out of Cold Harbor nine days later and continued to try to flank Lee's army. The next stop was Petersburg, south of Richmond, where a nine-month siege ensued. There would be no more attacks on the scale of Cold Harbor. And, unlike other Federal disasters, this one would be covered up by the Federal Army and the Northern press. Lincoln was on the campaign trail.



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  

--Last edited by grumpydave on 2008-06-03 12:20:17 --

Quote :

GrumpyDave wrote : 1861: Battle of Philippi:

The covered bridge in the town of Philippi, which was the real objective of the Federal forces, still exists  and continues to carry traffic in and out of town.

The bridge burned down about twenty years ago; but was rebuilt, using as many of the original timbers as possible.    

If you went to Rich Mountain, some of you may have seen it!