Monday Oct. 14 1861
MISSOURIAN MAKES MILITANT MESSAGE

The story of Missouri in the Civil War is often overlooked by history, but a long and often bloody story it was. The border state was very closely divided in sympathies, and perhaps the most unifying sentiment was a wish to be left alone. As this was not to be the case, the two sides both regarded it as vital to possess it. Missouri State Guard pro-secessionist Jeff Thompson issued a proclamation today calling on the people in Washington, Jefferson, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francis and Iron Counties to join him in fighting the “yoke of the North.” He suggested that residents (the area is roughly between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau) “drive the invaders from your soil or die among your native hills.” Quite a number of his followers and their opponents would do precisely that.



Tuesday Oct. 14 1862
CRITICAL CONGRESSIONAL CONTESTS CONDUCTED

A number of Midwestern states conducted their elections for members of the United States House of Representatives today. Both North and South had an intense interest in these elections, for the same reason: a change in the makeup of the House could change the support of the Legislative Branch for the conduct of the War. The results seemed grim for Lincoln and the Republican Party, as the Democrats scored solid gains in the races in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania. The only source of support was, oddly enough, in Iowa, which voted solidly Republican. The shift was not enough to cost Lincoln his majority, but it was a source of hope in Richmond that perhaps the North was becoming tired of the war.



Wednesday Oct. 14 1863
BRISTOE BATTLE BADLY BOTCHED

The campaign in Northern Virginia, until now largely a matter of feint and maneuver and bluster and threat, broke into actual fighting near the little town of Bristoe Hill today. The lead units of the Army of Northern Virginia, under Gen. A. P. Hill, caught up with the trailing members of the Union army as that force was pulling back to keep themselves between the Confederates and Washington D.C. Hill’s force, however, was just not large enough to do serious damage when confronted by a determined Federal resistance. The delay allowed Hill’s men to dig in around Centerville to await the presumed main attack. There would be no Third Manassas.

More:
Confederate General Robert E. Lee attempts to drive the Union army out of Virginia but fails when an outnumbered Union force repels the attacking Rebels.

In September 1863, two corps from the Union Army of the Potomac moved to Tennessee to reinforce the army of General William Rosecrans after his loss at the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19 and 20. When Lee heard of this, he suspected that the diminished Yankee army in Virginia was vulnerable. Lee was still outnumbered nearly two to one, but if he could place his army between the main Union force and Washington, D.C., the Confederates could relieve pressure on Virginia by forcing the Yankees closer to Washington.

On October 10, Lee moved his troops from their defenses along the Rapidan River and attempted to turn the Army of the Potomac's right flank. Union commander General George Meade was alerted to Lee's movement, and he quickly drew his army closer to Washington. The aggressive Lee realized that he had a chance to cut the Union army up piecemeal during the withdrawal. Confederate General Ambrose P. Hill spotted Yankees from General George Sykes's Fifth Corps near Bristoe Station on the afternoon of October 14. Thinking this was the rear of the Union army, Hill attacked and began driving the Federals away in disarray. The Confederates were surprised by the sudden appearance of Union General Gouverneur K. Warren's Second Corps. Warren's men were returning from a small battle at Auburn, Virginia, earlier that morning. Hill decided to attack this new force as well, but the Yankees were well protected by a railroad cut.

In a very short engagement, the Confederates suffered 1,400 men killed, wounded, and captured, while the Union lost only 546. "Bury these poor men," Lee somberly told Hill, "and let us say no more about it." The Union army was driven back 40 miles from its original positions, and the Confederates destroyed a large section of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, a key Union supply line. Nonetheless, the gains were temporary. The next month, Meade drove Lee back behind the Rapidan River.





Friday Oct. 14 1864
SHENANDOAH SKIRMISHING STRAFES STRASBURG

The continuing conflict between the Confederate cavalry expedition of Gen. Richard Early and his Union opponent Gen. Phillip Sheridan continued apace today. Over the last few weeks this venture, intended as a side venture to pressure Grant to send troops to suppress it and thereby relax the siege of Petersburg, had turned very sour indeed for Early. Since Sheridan had come East and been given the assignment to catch, kill, or drive him away things had gone from bad to worse. Skirmishing occurred today on Hupp’s Hill, Virginia, and not far away at Duffield’s Station, West Virginia. Both were near the town of Strasburg. The two armies were now just a few miles apart and moving slowly.