Sunday Oct. 13 1861
GUMPTION GETS GLAIZE GAMBLE GOING

Things were going rather slowly in Sterling Price’s first expedition to retake Missouri for the Confederacy. He and his men had had a success in the siege and battle of Lexington, when Fremont sat in St. Louis fighting political battles rather than military ones. Finally, though, Fremont had gotten a force together and was moving towards where he thought Price might be. As Price wished to discourage this, he attempted to cut the telegraph wires wherever he could. Today’s telecommunication outages took place near Henrytown, at a locale known variously as Dutch or Monday Hollow, and also as Wet Glaize, Mo. Federal scouts caught Price's people at it, and a small battle ensued.



Monday Oct. 13 1862
CONFEDERATE CONGRESS CRACKS CONSTITUTION

The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is in many ways a fascinating document. Modeled almost word for word after the US Constitution, it is best known for its differences from the earlier document, such as a single six-year term for the President as well as repeated references to the everlasting legality of the institution of slavery. The similarities, however, were considerable, and included the right of habeas corpus, the rule that persons could only be arrested on specific charges, and had the right to have these heard before a judge. The Congress today renewed a law authorizing the suspension of these rights. Then they adjourned the second session of the First Congress.



Tuesday Oct. 13 1863
MANASSAS MIRAGE MAKING MEADE MEANDER

It would have been a case of “déjà vu all over again” if such a phrase existed at this time, because Robert E. Lee seemed to be retracing the exact steps and maneuvers as had occurred before the dreadful Second Battle of Bull Run, or Battle of Manassas in the Southern nomenclature. The Army of Northern Virginia had crossed the Rapidan and headed north, before curving west as though to cut between Gen. George Meade's Army of the Potomac and the city they were supposed to protect, Washington D.C. Meade seemed intent on keeping his position near Richmond, and Lincoln was in a state of near-hysteria. Again he wired Meade, “How is it now?” Finally on the move, Meade today responded that he was headed for Manassas and Centerville, and was no longer likely to be cut off from the capital.

Ohio voters reject Vallandigham:

The voters of Ohio send Clement Vallandigham to a resounding defeat in the fall gubernatorial election. As leader of the Copperheads, or antiwar Democrats, Vallandigham was an important and highly visible critic of the Republican's war policy, particularly the emancipation of slaves.

Vallandigham was elected to the House of Representatives in 1858. He was a Democrat and disapproved of slavery, but he admired Southern society and disagreed with starting a war over the issue of slave emancipation. He advocated states rights and generally agreed with most Southern political views. When the war began, he became a vociferous critic of both the method and war aims of the Republicans. As the war turned bloodier and it became clear that a Union victory would take years, Vallandigham began to gather supporters, and he became recognized as the leader of the Peace Democrats, or Copperheads. When the Lincoln administration began to curtail civil liberties, Vallandigham's criticism placed him in increasing jeopardy. In spring 1863, General Ambrose Burnside issued Order No. 38, which stated that public criticism of the war would not be tolerated. Vallandigham defied the order, and he was arrested on May 8. He was tried on charges of "expressing treasonable sympathy" with the enemy, and he was found guilty by a military tribunal in Cincinnati. He was banished to the Confederacy on May 25, 1862.

After a short stay there, Vallandigham relocated to Windsor, Ontario, and, despite his exile, mounted a campaign to become the Ohio governor. Elections were a barometer of the Northern war effort. In 1862, voters expressed dissatisfaction with President Lincoln by sending many Democrats to Congress. However, in 1863, after key Union successes at Vicksburg and Gettysburg, the voters increased Republican control of both houses. In Ohio, Vallandigham lost by more than 100,000 votes out of a half million ballots cast. He returned to the United States in 1864 and continued his criticism of "King Lincoln," as he called the president. Lincoln ignored him, but Vallandigham helped write the 1864 Democratic platform. By insisting that a statement be included declaring the war a failure and calling for an immediate end to fighting, Vallandigham helped ensure a Democratic defeat.

After the war, he practiced law and tried to get back into Ohio Democratic politics, but Democratic leaders rejected him as a senatorial candidate. In the early 1870s, he became an advocate of bridging the gap between Democrats and Republicans, a movement that spawned the Liberal Republican Party. Vallandigham died in 1871 when he accidentally killed himself showing a friend how a murder had been committed (he was defending the accused murderer).




Thursday Oct. 13 1864
MOSBY MAKES MILITARY MONEY MEN MAD

John Singleton Mosby was technically a cavalryman, but really belonged to that category known as “Confederate raiders.” Rather than scouting and screening for an army of infantry, he and his men operated independently, taking supplies, tearing up communications lines, and generally raising hell wherever they could. They raised a great deal today when they tore out some railroad tracks. The next train along naturally derailed, and Mosby’s men pounced. Great was their glee when they discovered the Army payroll was on board. Relieving the two Union paymasters of $173,000, they compounded their nuisance value by burning the train.

Quote :

GrumpyDave wrote : Thursday Oct. 13 1864 MOSBY MAKES MILITARY MONEY MEN MAD John Singleton Mosby was technically a cavalryman, but really belonged to that category known as “Confederate raiders.” Rather than scouting and screening for an army of infantry, he and his men operated independently, taking supplies, tearing up communications lines, and generally raising hell wherever they could. They raised a great deal today when they tore out some railroad tracks. The next train along naturally derailed, and Mosby’s men pounced. Great was their glee when they discovered the Army payroll was on board. Relieving the two Union paymasters of $173,000, they compounded their nuisance value by burning the train.

Grumpy,

Any information on what happened to the payroll? That would be over a million dollars in today's money.