November 3, 1816

Jubal Early born:

Confederate General Jubal Early is born in Franklin County, Virginia. Early had a distinguished career in the Confederate army, and in 1864 he waged a campaign in the Shenandoah Valley that kept Confederate hopes alive by relieving the pressure on General Robert E. Lee's army around Richmond.

Early graduated from West Point in 1837, eleventh in his class of 50. He fought in Florida's Seminole War in 1838 and was promoted to first lieutenant but resigned later that year. He studied in Virginia and was elected to the State House of Delegates in 1841. When war with Mexico broke out in 1846, Early rejoined the military as a colonel in the Virginia volunteers. He served in General Zachary Taylor's army but saw no combat. Early left the service in 1848 to resume his political career. In 1861, he was elected to the commonwealth's secession convention as a pro-Union delegate, and he strongly opposed secession. Despite his opposition, Early offered his service to the Confederacy when Virginia left the Union on April 17.

Commissioned as a colonel in the 24th Virginia Infantry, Early played a key role at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, when he led a crucial counterattack against the Union's right flank. He was promoted to brigadier general and he soon earned a reputation as a highly effective commander. In 1863, his force played important roles in the Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. By 1864, he was considered one of the best division commanders in the Army of Northern Virginia. In the spring campaigns of 1864, Early took over command of a corps when Richard Ewell was wounded, and he earned high marks from his commander, General Robert E. Lee. When that campaign turned into a siege at Petersburg, Lee tapped Early to lead a force of 14,000 to the Shenandoah Valley.

Early's campaign that summer was initially successful. He drove a Union force from the valley, then turned down the Potomac River to Washington. In early July, he reached the outskirts of the capital, and the Union commander, General Ulysses S. Grant, had to divert two corps from his army at Petersburg to defend Washington. Early did not intend to attack the formidable defenses there, so he withdrew back to the Shenandoah by the end of July. Early's activities boosted Southern morale and showed Northerners how difficult it would be to defeat the Confederacy. Grant dispatched General Philip Sheridan and 40,000 troops to neutralize Early's army. Sheridan dealt two serious defeats to Early in September at Winchester and Fischer's Hill, but Early struck back at Cedar Creek in October. Early's men drove the surprised Federals back several miles before Sheridan personally rallied them and routed the Confederates. Early waged a fine campaign, but by the end of October his force was defeated and badly outnumbered. When Sheridan took control of the Shenandoah Valley, an important Confederate resource was lost.

Early was relieved of command just before the Confederate surrender, an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise fine career. He fled to Mexico after the war. After a stint in Canada, he returned to the United States in 1867 under a general amnesty granted to former Confederates. After the war he practiced law, ran the Louisiana state lottery, and founded the Southern Historical Society. Early was a major architect of the myth of the "Lost Cause," and much of his work aimed to protect the reputation of Robert E. Lee. Jubal Early died in 1894, and his death silenced one of the most important voices of Southern history.

Sunday Nov. 3 1861
HUNTER HOLDS HEADQUARTERS HEIGHTS

Finally, after two days of sometimes less than dignified negotiations, insubordination, trickery and deceit, John Fremont had been persuaded to step down as commander of the US military district of Missouri at his base in Springfield, and return to St. Louis. His replacement, Gen. David Hunter, 59, was one of the comparatively few Union officers who had been a lifelong military man, never leaving the service for a more lucrative job since graduating from West Point in 1822. Experience finally paid off when the Civil War started and he was promoted first to Colonel, of the 3rd US Cavalry, then within weeks to brigadier general. He was badly wounded at Bull Run, and this was his first field command (albeit a desk job) since returning.



Monday Nov. 3 1862
CSS COTTON COMMENCES CALHOUN CLASH

Captain Edward W. Fuller of the gunboat CSS Cotton had a particularly enjoyable day in Berwick Bay, Louisiana today. He seemed to be in a thoroughly dreadful situation, being the only Confederate ship in the bay, and being confronted by no less than four Union vessels, the USS Calhoun, Kinsman, Estella and Diana. The odds were not as uneven as they may have seemed, however: what the US captains did not know was that there were Confederate shore batteries concealed on the banks of the waterway. Between the batteries and the Cotton’s own guns, considerable damage was inflicted on the Federal ships until the Cotton started to run low on ammunition. Captain Fuller ordered his men to cut off their pants legs and tie the ends to make additional powder bags to extend the fight. The Union ships withdrew.



Tuesday Nov. 3 1863
SUMTER SHELLING SIMPLY STUNNING

To the thousands of mortar, cannon and artillery shells which had already been flung at the battered hulk of Ft. Sumter were added another 661 which were shot off today. The problem, from the point of view of the Union attackers, was that as long as the bombproof shelters provided cover for the Confederate defenders, any further damage to the shell of the fort itself was more or less unimportant. The essential point was summed up in a report by Admiral John Dahlgren after inspecting the fort through a telescope from his flagship in Charleston Harbor. He could, he wrote “..plainly observe the further effects of the firing; still, this mass of ruin [Sumter] is capable of harboring a number of the enemy, who may retain their hold until expelled by the bayonet..” The air war was not working and ground forces would have to be used.



Thursday Nov. 3 1864
DARING DEED DELICIOUSLY DEVIOUS

The Confederate Cavalry-Naval Flotilla Force was a unique and short-lived institution created Oct. 27 when Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest succeeded in capturing a Union gunboat and two transport ships on the Tennessee River. In the ensuing days Forrest had put the vessels to good use hauling his men across the river and into position to threaten a Union supply depot at Johnstonville, Tenn. As the cavalrymen-turned-sailors gained greater experience at managing their new steeds, their confidence increased. Today, which was cold, rainy and foggy on that part of the river, the men challenged three Union gunboats guarding the depot to come out and fight. The more experienced Union sailors declined the offer and stayed under the protection of their shore guns.