Name: Theodore Barber Service Record: Enlisted as a Private on 1 November 1861.
Side Served: Union State Served: Pennsylvania
Enlisted in Company: K, 57th Infantry Regiment
Killed Company K, 57th Infantry Regiment Pennsylvania on 3 May 1863 at Chancellorsville, VA. Death was Gangrene from foot/leg
57th PA Regiment Organization, Service & Battles
Organization
Organized at Harrisburg December 14, 1861.
Left State for Washington, D. C, December 14.
Attached to Jameson’s Brigade, Heintzelman’s Division, Army Potomac, to March, 1862.
1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 3rd Army Corps, Army Potomac, to August, 1862.
2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Army Corps, Army Potomac, to March, 1863.
1st Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Army Corps, to March, 1864.
2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 2nd Army Corps, to June, 1865.
Service & Battles – 1862
Duty in the Defences of Washington, D. C., till March, 1862.
Moved to the Virginia Peninsula March 16-18.
Siege of Yorktown April 5-May 4.
Skirmish Yorktown April 11.
Battle of Williamsburg May 5.
Battle of Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, May 31-June 1.
Seven Days before Richmond June 25-July 1.
Oak Grove June 25.
Peach Orchard and Savage Station June 29.
Charles City Cross Roads and Glendale June 30.
Malvern Hill July 1.
Duty at Harrison’s Landing till August 16.
Movement to Centreville August 16-26.
Skirmish at Bull Run August 20.
Pope’s Campaign in Northern Virginia.
Battles of Gainesville August 28;
Groveton August 29;
Bull Run August 30; Chantilly September 1.
Guard fords from Monocacy River to Conrad’s Ferry till October.
March up the Potomac to Leesburg, thence to Falmouth, Va., October 11-November 19.
Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12-15.
Service & Battles – 1863
Burnside’s 2nd Campaign, “Mud March,” January 20-24, 1863.
At Falmouth, Va., till April 27. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6.
Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5.
Note from Coni: Where Theodore died during battle
Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 11-July 24.
Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July 1-3.
Pursuit of Lee July 5-24.
Wapping Heights, Va., July 23.
Duty on line of the Rappahannock till October.
Bristoe Campaign October 9-22.
Auburn and Bristoe October 13-14.
Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7-8.
Kelly’s Ford November 7.
Mine Run Campaign November 26-December 2.
Payne’s Farm November 27.
Service & Battles – 1864
Veterans on furlough January to March, 1864.
Rapidan Campaign May 4-June 12.
Battles of the Wilderness May 5-7; Laurel Hill May 8; Spottsylvania May 8-12;
Po River May 10; Spottsylvania Court House May 12-21.
Assault on the Salient May 12.
Harris’ Farm May 19.
North Anna River May 23-26.
Line of the Pamunkey May 26-28.
Totopotomoy May 28-31.
Cold Harbor June 1-12.
Before Petersburg June 16-18.
Service & Battles – 1865
Siege of Petersburg June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865.
Weldon Railroad June 22-23, 1864.
Demonstration north of the James at Deep Bottom July 27-29, and August 13-20.
Strawberry Plains, Deep Bottom, August 14-18.
Ream’s Station August 25.
Poplar Springs Church September 29-October 2.
Boydton Plank Road, Hatcher’s Run, October 27-28.
Expedition to Weldon Railroad December 7-12.
Consolidated to five Companies January 11, 1865.
Dabney’s Mills, Hatcher’s Run, February 5-7.
Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9.
Boydton Road March 30-31.
Fall of Petersburg April 2.
Sailor’s Creek April 6.
High Bridge, Farmville, April 7.
Appomattox Court House April 9.
Surrender of Lee and his army.
At Burkesville till May.
March to Washington D. C, May 2-12.
Grand Review May 23.
Duty at Alexandria till June. – Mustered out June 29, 1865.
Regimental Losses
Regiment lost during service 12 Officers and 149 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 217 Enlisted men by disease
Total: 378
History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5; prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature by Samuel P. Bates
Company K, under Captain Cornelius S. Chase, was originally recruited as an independent company of sharp-shooters ; but failing of acceptance in that capacity, it became a part of this regiment.
Page 250: About the 1st of March, the army, now under Hooker, was re-organized, and the Fifty-seventh was re-as signed to the First Brigade, commanded by Colonel C. H. T. Collis, subsequently by General Charles K. Graham, which now consisted of the Fifty-seventh, Sixtythird, Sixty-eighth, One Hundred and Fifth, One Hundred and Fourteenth, and One Hundred and Forty-first Pennsylvania Regiments. General Birney commanded the division, and General Sickles the corps. On the 28th of April the corps moved on the Chancellorsville campaign, and after marching down the river to Franklin’s crossing, and manoeuvring in front of it, making feints to cross, it finally on the evening of the 30th, moved fifteen miles up the river, to United States Ford, where it crossed, and marched to Chancellorsville. The Fifth, Eleventh, and Twelfth corps were already in position, and after marching back and forth upon the plank road, at evening it bivouacked near the Chancellor House. At five A. M. of the 2d of May, it moved to the front, three-fourths of a mile south-west of the Chancellor House, near a pine grove, and took position behind breastworks erected there. The Fifty-seventh was on the extreme right of the corps, and joined the left of the Twelfth Corps. At two P. M. Biraey’s and Whipple s divisions, the First and Third, were ordered to the front, where some skirmishing ensued, which lasted until dark, when, suddenly, a tremendous crash of artillery was heard away to the right and rear, followed up by the mingled roar of musketry. It was the onset of Jackson upon the Eleventh Corps. Shortly after dark, falling in quietly, the two divisions inarched to the rear, and were halted in an open field in front of the works occupied in the morning, now in the hands of the enemy. General Ward s Brigade made a bayonet charge during the night, and drove the enemy from a part of the line. At daylight of the 3d, the enemy made a vigorous attack; but not knowing from what direction he would come, the division was not in line, and when it was delivered the brigade was in column of regiments. It was immediately moved by the right flank, at double-quick, and deployed in line of battle near the Chancellor House, to the left of the Plank Road, and at right angles to it, and charged, driving the enemy, but was in turn driven back. In this charge the regiment suffered a grievous slaughter. The brigade steadily fell back, fighting as it went for nearly a mile, when a new line was formed, which was held until the morning of the 6th, when the army re-crossed the river, and the regiment returned to its old camping-ground. The loss was two officers and eleven men killed – three officers and forty-five men wounded, and twenty-three missing. Among the killed were Captain Edson J. Eice, and Lieutenant Joseph Brady.
History of the 57 Regiment – Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry By: J. M. MARTIN.
CHAPTER I: Organization of the Regiment-–Camp Curtin—Departure for Washington—In Old Virginia—Colonel Maxwell Resigns—Colonel Campbell. The sanguinary battle, and almost disgraceful rout of the Union army under General McDowell at the first Bull Run in July, 1861, convinced the authorities at Washington that the insurrection of the slave states was not a mere spasm of anger at their defeat in the preceding presidential election to be crushed out by the levy Of 75,000 troops, undisciplined and indifferently equipped, in a three months’ service of holiday soldiering, and that Secretary Seward’s prophecy that a sixty days’ campaign would restore the Union and bring peace to the nation was a dream destined not to be realized. Acting on this conviction a call was made for 300,000 volunteers to serve for three years, or during the war.
History of 57 Regiment
To meet the emergency, evident to many, who were not disposed to accept the prophecy of the Secretary of State, Andrew G. Curtin, whose name will go down in history as ” Pennsylvania’s War Governor,” organized, equipped and had put in training that superb body of men, “The Pennsylvania Reserves,” who through all the four years of bloody conflict to follow, were to find the place their name indicated, on the skirmish and picket line, and in the front of the battle, were the first to respond, and none too quickly, for the safety of the Nation’s Capital. In obedience to this call other regiments and battalions were promptly organized and forwarded so that by September 1, 1861, Arlington Heights and the environments of Washington were thickly studded with the camps of these new levies, and out of the mass was being moulded, under the hand of that skillful drill master, General George B. McClellan, that mighty host known in history as the Army of the Potomac, whose valiant deeds in the cause of Union and Liberty are co-eternal with that of the Nation. At the first, regiments were recruited and mustered from single cities, towns and counties, but as time passed and the first flood of recruits were mustered into service, companies and squads, to the number of a corporal’s guard, were gathered from distantly separated districts, and rendezvousing at some common camp were consolidated into regiments and battalions. Such was the case in the organization of the 57th Pennsylvania Volunteers, the place of rendezvous and final mustering being in Camp Curtin at the State Capital.
The roster of the regiment, by company, shows the different sections of the state whence recruited, viz
Company A, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties,
Company B, Mercer county.
Company C, Mercer county.
Company D, Tioga county.
Company E, Allegheny, Mercer and Lawrence counties.
Company F, Mercer county.
Company G, Bradford county.
Company H, Bradford county.
Company I, Mercer and Venango counties.
Company K, Crawford county.
Thus it will be seen at a glance on the state map that there were representatives in the regiment from Wyoming county in the east; thence along the northern border of Crawford, Mercer, Venango and Lawrence counties in the extreme west. Before, however, the final rendezvous of these several companies at Camp Curtin there were smaller camps established for recruiting in several localities, notably that at Mercer, Mercer county, where it may be said was established the original regimental headquarters.
CHAPTER VI
On to Richmond Once More—-Foragers Captured—-General McClellan Superseded by General Burnside—-The March to the Rappahannock—Battle of Fredericksburg.
The closing days of October found us again on the march, swinging down the Virginia valley with the grand Army of the Potomac, fully recovered and equipped for another measuring of strength with our wily foe, the Army of Northern Virginia.
On November 12th, while we were encamped near Waterloo bridge, six men of Company K, Corporal Theodore Barber, Privates William Murray, A. L. Marsh, J. W. Hummer, Adam Wert and F. E. Hinman, were captured while returning from a foraging expedition. When captured they had several sheep they had gobbled. For some days it was rumored that they had been taken by Mosby’s guerrillas and hung, but after a short sojourn in Libby prison, they were sent to Camp Parole at Annapolis, Md., were exchanged, and rejoined the regiment in the following February. No other incident of moment occurred until we reached the vicinity of Warrenton, Va. There the morale of the army received a shock from which it required months for recovery.It was the unexpected relieving of Gen. George B. McClellan from command, and the assignment of Gen. Ambrose E. Burn- side to that high position. That General. McClellan was the idol of the Army of the Potomac cannot be gainsaid. In him the mass of the troops had unbounded confidence. He had organized, equipped and drilled them. On his shoulders that did not rest the blame of their discomfiture on the Peninsula. Instead they praised him for his masterly “change of base” from the swamps of the Chickahominy to the James. He had from the jaws of defeat at Bull Run wrested victory from their elated and confident enemy at South Mountain and Antietam, and now, when on the forward movement again, hopeful of final victory, he was unceremoniously discharged, and one substituted of whom they knew little, and who with protestations of unfitness accepted the command! At Warrenton the army encountered the first snowfall of the winter, the morning reveille waking the sleeping host covered with an extra blanket of purest whiteness. Our march to the Rappahannock was without further incident of note. On November 25th we arrived upon the heights overlooking the ancient city of Fredericksburg sleeping in the river valley, beyond which rose Marye’s heights and the range of wooded hills, on whose slopes was marshaled our old foe, interrupting our further advance upon the Confederate capital. Here the army pitched its winter camp. Many of the quarters were built quite substantial and comfortable. The messes of five and six, cut and split the soft pine indigenous to that region, constructing therewith log cabins roofed with their shelter tents. Many of these cabins were fitted up quite tastefully, having open fire places and bunks erected aganist the walls which were supplied with pillows and matresses of the resinous pine needles covered with army blankets, making very comfortable beds, at least quite luxurious to men who had enjoyed nothing better than the ground, or the soft side of a plank, for a year past. But from this dream of peace and comfort we were soon to be rudely wakened. In the early twilight of the morning of December 11th, the guards that paced their lonely beats about the silent camps were startled by the sudden boom of a signal gun, its deep reverberations up and down the river valley giving warning to friend and foe that a strife for the possession of yonder steeps was soon to begin. For a moment silence followed this signal and then from the hundred brazen throats of the batteries that lined – the crest of the hills on the north side flashed sheets of flame amid deafening roar and scream of shot and shell, that brought every sleeper to his feet. The deep notes of the heavier ordnance, mingled with the rifle crack of the lighter parrotts ; the whizzing of shot and screaming shells, the path of the latter marked by burning fuse, presented a scene grand and awe-inspiring beyond description. It was war’s magnificent prelude to the fiercer music of the clash of a hundred thousand muskets to follow. By daylight, camps were broken, knapsacks packed, and marching columns were pouring forward toward the river where the batteries continued to play and pile their smoke in thick banks along the crest of the hills. All day long
HISTORY FIFTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT
…….We sat about our campfires in our dismantled quarters waiting the order to move, but none came and darkness found us replacing our shelters for another night’s rest in our accustomed berths. During the afternoon of the 12th our corps, the 3d, marched to the extreme left of the line and bivouacked for the night in a piece of woodland overlooking the river. The next day, the 13th, we retraced our steps, halting just before noon at a point where we had a magnificent panoramic view of the river, town and field, and down into the valley, where could dimly be seen through the river mists the long lines of blue with flying colors waiting the command to storm the wooded heights beyond. Judged by the character of our movements it looked as though we were to be spectators of the struggle about to open. In the line of battle our place properly would be with Hooker’s grand division, which occupied the center, but instead we were on the extreme left in support of Franklin. In this, however, we were mistaken. About 12 o’clock the bugles sounded and the order to fall in passed along the line, and without further delay the long line of the 3d corps wound down the hill, crossed the river on the lower pontoon bridge and from thence marched directly out upon the plain to the front line of battle. That the hour to strike for the possession of yonder wooded slopes, occupied by the veterans of Jackson, had come was evident to all. From our right came the crash and long roll of musketry, telling us that Hooker was crowding the enemy in his front and we should not long be idle. Soon Randolph’s and other batteries in our front and on our flanks began to feel for the enemy in the woods to our front. As we stood intently watching the effect of the bursting shells a stream of smoke shot out from a clump of trees and brush to our left center, and an instant later a shell whizzed wickedly over our heads. The enemy’s cover was now revealed and on this piece of woodland the fire of every gun in our batteries were concentrated. For a time he replied with vigor, sending shot for shot. The voice of Colonel Campbell rang out above the din: “Lie down.” We waited not a second order, but quickly and closely embraced our mother earth. Soon explosion followed explosion in quick succession within the enemy’s lines. A shot from one of our guns had penetrated one of their caissons and now their own exploding ammunition was doing its deadly work, and silencing their only battery in position to do us immediate harm. Now is the time to charge the heights! The Pennsylvania Reserves are chosen for the hazardous task. In three lines, with arms at a right shoulder shift, they advanced at a quick step. What a magnificent spectacle! Not a man falters, but shoulder to shoulder they move across the plain in perfect alignment. At the railroad in the edge of the woods they encounter the enemy, who pour into their ranks a withering fire. With a cheer they spring forward and press back the foe. Soon they are lost to view amid the scrub pine, their location only known by the curling smoke from their pieces and their cheers as they ascend the hill. Over half way to the summit the second line of the enemy, is encountered. Again a galling fire is poured into their faces, but still they cheer and press on. Down in the valley we stand anxiously, but idly watching the now desperate and unequal contest our comrades of the Old Keystone are waging. They are brothers, friends and neighbors to many, if not all of us. A half mile intervenes between them and us. We know we are not in supporting distance. Our impatience overcomes our discipline to wait the word to advance. Shouts are being heard all along the line: “Why are not the Reserves being supported?” We know too keenly that they must yield to the overpowering odds against them unless reinforced at once! “Battalion, right face, forward, file left, march!” rings out clear from the colonel’s-lips. The men are quick to obey, and we move more rapidly to the front. “By company, half wheel! Forward into line on first company!” The movement was executed with alacrity. “Forward, guide right.” We pressed forward with quick step toward the woods from which was now emerging the broken lines of the Reserves, not in panic, but resolutely disputing, as best they could, every step. A drainage ditch from three to four feet deep, grown up in many places with a tangle of briers, extended along our front and parallel with the railroad at the foot of the hills. Into this we were ordered in the hope that by its protection we could stay the enemy’s countercharge. The Reserves were still in our front and to deliver an effective fire was impossible. Orders to fall back were given, but in the din of battle were unheard or unheeded, and many who attempted the retreat were left dead or wounded on the field. The enemy swarmed out of the woods in our front without order or alignment, giving but little heed to the ditch, springing over the heads of its occupants in their mad rush for our batteries. There was not time for the gunners to debate the question of the safety of their comrades in their front if they would save their batteries, and possibly the day to our cause. They poured volley after volley of grape and cannister into the advancing enemy, each discharge mowing great swathes in their ranks. It was more than human flesh could bear and soon they were in full retreat for the cover of the woods, and thus ended, so far as the 57th was concerned, the battle of Fredericksburg. In this short encounter, possibly lasting ten minutes, the losses of the regiment were fearful, considering the number engaged. Out of 316 men in line, 21 were killed, 76 wounded and 78 missing, 54 of whom were prisoners, 55.38 per cent of the whole force engaged! Among the wounded was Colonel Campbell, who fell pierced with three balls; Captain Strohecker*, and Surgeon Kennedy. During the 14th the remnant of the regiment acted as provost guard to gather up stragglers until evening, when we were again placed in the front line, where we remained until the night of the 15th. During the 15th a truce was declared for the burial of the dead, and removal of the wounded; the ghastly “Captain Strohecker was afterward commissioned lieutenant-colonel, but did not rejoin the regiment for active service. He was honorably discharged on March 12, 1863. Sequel of the battle that robs it of its glory and drowns the acclaims of the victors in the tears of the widowed and sobs of the orphans. During the night of the 15th our army withdrew to the north side of the river, leaving the Confederates the practical victors on the fiercely contested field. The 57th, with shattered ranks, reoccupied its old quarters, the empty tents and broken messes being sad reminders of the horrors of war, and the uncertainty of the soldier’s term of life. Thus closed the second year of the war, and the first of service of the 57th regiment for the preservation of the Union, amid scenes of discomfiture, defeat and gloom.
U.S. Army Military History Institute – Collections Division
950 Soldiers Drive
Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013-5021
Bates, Samuel P. History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot, 1993. Vol. 3, pp. 246-84 (20 photocopied pages). E527B32.1993v6. (Brief history and roster of the regiment).
Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Vol. 2. Dayton, OH: Morningside, 1979. Ref. See p. 1593-94 (2 photocopied pages) for a concise summary of the regiment’s service.
Fox, Arthur B. Our Honored Dead: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in the American Civil War. Chicora, PA: Mechling Bookbindery, 2008. pp. 80-83. F157A4F69.
Fuhrman, Robert. “The 57th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry at Gettysburg.” Gettysburg Mag No. 17: pp. 62-69. E475.53G482no17.
History of the Fifty-seventh Regiment, Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, First Brigade, First Division, Third Corps, and Second Brigade, Third Division, Second Corps, Army of the Potomac. Kearny, NJ: Belle Grove, 1995 reprint of 1904 ed. l96 p. E527.5.57thH57.
Nelson, Alanson H. The Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Minneapolis, MN: n.p., 1899. 183 p. E475.35N42.
O’Leary, Arthur. “...and an Irish Soldier.” MilITARY Images Magazine (Jul/Aug 1991): p. 21 (1 photocopied page). Per. Photo & vignette of Captain Michael Maloy.
Pennsylvania. Gettysburg Battlefield Comm. Pennsylvania at Gettysburg: Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Monuments Erected by the Commonwealth…. Vol. 1. Harrisburg, PA: Wm S Ray, 1914. pp. 348-69 (13 photocopied pages). E475.53P422v1. (Addresses delivered at the dedication of the regimental monument and a photo of that monument at the Gettysburg National Military Park).
Sauers, Richard A. Advance the Colors!: Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flags. Vol. 1. Hbg, PA: Capitol Preservation Comm, 1987. pp.159-61 (3 photocopied pages). E527.4S38.1987v1. (Brief unit history with emphasis on the regimental flags).
Photo Archive includes images of individuals of this unit.
The following pertinent personal papers are in the Institute’s Manuscript Archive:
Baker, Joseph D. – CWMiscColl (Enlisted man’s letters and papers, Oct 28, 1861-Nov 20, 1863)
Estep, Henry – HCWRTColl (Enlisted man’s letters, Aug 30, 1862-Jul 7, 1865)
Granger, Luther – CWMiscColl (Enlisted man’s letters, Dec 1861-Mar 10, 1868)
Pennsylvania 57th Infantry Regimental Papers – BrakeColl (Officer’s published memoir about Gettysburg, Jul 2-3, 1863; regimental history)
Rice, Nicholas – Papers (Enlisted man’s memoir, Sep 1861- Oct 1862, concerning death of brother at Chancellorsville)
Strouss, Ellis C. – CWTIColl (Sergeant’s letters, Oct 21, 1861- Jan 18, 1865)
Williams, Edgar – HCWRTColl (Sergeant’s letter, Sep 18, 1862)
Wilson Family – HCWRTColl
Zahniser, Thomas C. – CWMiscColl (Enlisted man’s letter, Jan 24, 1862)
The Pennsylvania Civil War Project/Pennsylvanians in the Civil War by Steve Maczuga, Population Research Institute
Theodore Barber PA 57 K Private Killed at Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863
http://athens.pop.psu.edu/cw/c3.cfm?quest=Chancell
History of 1863 – During the year of 1863 the following events have happened in our world’s history.
January 01, 1863 – Emancipation Proclamation issued by Lincoln
January 01, 1863 – 1st homestead under the Homestead Act claimed, near Beatrice, Nebr
January 01, 1863 – Battle of Galveston, Texas-Confederates recapture the city
January 01, 1863 – Emancipation Proclamation (ending slavery) issued by Lincoln
January 01, 1863 – Franz Schuberts “Missa Solemnis,” premieres in Leipzig
January 02, 1863 – Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone’s River) ends
January 04, 1863 – 4 wheeled roller skates patented by James Plimpton of NY
January 08, 1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Springfield
January 09, 1863 – -Jan 11th] Battle of Arkansas Post, AK (Ft Hindman)
January 10, 1863 – 1st underground railway opens in London
January 10, 1863 – General McClernand’s Union troops surround Fort Hindman Ark
January 10, 1863 – January-uprising begins in Poland
January 10, 1863 – London’s 1st subway opens
January 11, 1863 – Naval engagement near Galveston between CSS Alabama & USS Hatteras
January 11, 1863 – Union forces capture Arkansas Post, or Ft Hindman, Arkansas
January 12, 1863 – President Davis delivers his “State of Confederacy” address
January 13, 1863 – Thomas Crapper pioneers one-piece pedestal flushing toilet
January 13, 1863 – Chenille manufacturing machine patented by William Canter, NYC
January 14, 1863 – Battle between gunboats at Bayou Teche Louisiana
January 15, 1863 – 1st US newspaper printed on wood-pulp paper, Boston Morning Journal
January 16, 1863 – -Aug 23rd) Cruise of CSS Florida
January 17, 1863 – Civil War skirmish near Newtown, Virginia
January 19, 1863 – General Mieroslawski appointed dictator of Poland
January 21, 1863 – City of Dublin leases part of Cattle Market for 100,000 years
January 22, 1863 – Union Gen Burnside’s “Mud March”
January 25, 1863 – General Joseph Hooker replaces Burnside as head of Army of Potomac
January 25, 1863 – Battle of Kinston, NC
January 26, 1863 – 54th Regiment (Black) infantry forms
January 26, 1863 – War Dept authorizes Mass governor to recruit black troops
January 26, 1863 – American Civil War: Massachusetts Governor receives permission from Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.
January 29, 1863 – Battle at Bear River, Washington: US army vs indians
January 31, 1863 – 1st black Civil War regiment, SC Volunteers, mustered into US army
February 02, 1863 – Samuel Clemens becomes Mark Twain for 1st time
February 07, 1863 – HMS Orpheus sinks off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, killing 189.
February 09, 1863 – Fire extinguisher patented by Alanson Crane
February 10, 1863 – 1st US fire extinguisher patent granted to Alanson Crane, Virginia
February 10, 1863 – PT Barnum stages wedding of Tom Thumb & Mercy Lavinia Warren (NYC)
February 24, 1863 – Arizona Territory created
February 24, 1863 – Forrest’s raid on Brentwood, Tennessee
February 25, 1863 – Congress creates national banking system, comptroller of currency
February 26, 1863 – Lincoln signs National Currency Act
February 28, 1863 – Confederate raider “Nashville” sinks near Fort McAllister Georgia
March 02, 1863 – Congress authorizes track width of 4’8-+” for Union Pacific RR
March 03, 1863 – Lincoln approves charter for National Academy of Sciences
March 03, 1863 – Idaho Territory forms
March 03, 1863 – Gold certificates (currency) authorized by Congress
March 03, 1863 – Free city delivery replaces zone postage; 449 letter carriers hired
March 03, 1863 – Federal ironclad ships bomb Fort McAllister Georgia
March 03, 1863 – Congress authorizes a US mint at Carson City, Nevada
March 03, 1863 – Abraham Lincoln approves charter for National Academy of Sciences
March 03, 1863 – 1st US wartime military conscription bill enacted
March 04, 1863 – Idaho Territory established
March 04, 1863 – Battle of Thompson’s Station, TN
March 04, 1863 – Territory of Idaho established
March 17, 1863 – Battle of Kelly’s Ford, VA (211 casualities)
March 19, 1863 – The SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of ammunitions, medicines and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000. The wreck was discovered on the same day and month, exactly 1
March 20, 1863 – Battle of Pensacola FL – evacuated by Federals
March 21, 1863 – Naval Engagement at Havana Cuba-USS Henrick Hudson vs BR Wild Pigeon
March 25, 1863 – 1st Army Medal of Honor awarded
March 25, 1863 – Skirmish at Brentwood Tennessee
March 26, 1863 – Voters in West Virginia approve gradual emancipation of slaves
March 27, 1863 – President Davis calls for this to be a day of fasting & prayer
March 30, 1863 – Danish prince Wilhelm Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg chosen as king George of Greece
March 31, 1863 – Battle of Grand Gulf MS & Dinwiddie Court House VA
April 01, 1863 – 1st wartime conscription law in US goes into effect
April 02, 1863 – Bread revolt in Richmond Virginia
April 07, 1863 – Battle of Charleston SC, failed Federal fleet attack on Fort Sumter
April 10, 1863 – Rebel Gen Earl Van Dorn attacks at Franklin, Tenn
April 11, 1863 – Battle of Suffolk, VA (Norfleet House)
April 12, 1863 – -14] Gunboat battle at Bayou Teche Louisiana
April 13, 1863 – Battle of Irish Bend, LA (Ft Bisland)
April 13, 1863 – Hospital for Ruptured & Crippled in NY is 1st orthopedic hospital
April 14, 1863 – William Bullock patents continuous-roll printing press
April 17, 1863 – R Grierson’s: La Grange, TN to Baton Rouge, LA
April 19, 1863 – Union troops/fleet occupy For Huger, Virginia
April 21, 1863 – Bah+?’u’ll+?h, considered the founder of the Bah+?’+? Faith, declares his mission as “He whom God shall make manifest”.
April 21, 1863 – Declaration of aha’u’llah; Baha’i Feast of Ridvan (Jalal 13, 20)
April 24, 1863 – Skirmish at Okolona/Birmingham, Mississippi (Grierson’s Raid)
April 27, 1863 – Battle of Streight’s raid: Tuscumbia to Cedar Bluff, AL
April 29, 1863 – Battle of Chancellordville, VA (Fredericksburg, Wilderness Tavern)
April 30, 1863 – Mexican forces attacked the French Foreign Legion in Hacienda Camar+?n, Mexico.
May 01, 1863 – Confederate congress passed resolution to kill black soldiers
May 01, 1863 – Confederate “National Flag” replaces “Stars & Bars”
May 01, 1863 – Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi
May 01, 1863 – Battle of Chancellorsville, VA (29,000 injured or died)
May 02, 1863 – South defeats North in Battle of Chancellorsville – Va
May 02, 1863 – Stonewall Jackson attacks Chancellorsville, wounded by his own men
May 03, 1863 – Battle of Chancellorsville – Beaten Union army withdraws
May 03, 1863 – Battle of Fredricksburg, VA (Marye’s Heights)
May 03, 1863 – Battle of Salem Church, VA
http://history-of-today.com/yearly.php?year=1863
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on May 3 in the vicinity of Fredericksburg. The campaign pitted Union Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s Army of the Potomac against an army half its size, Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Chancellorsville is known as Lee’s “perfect battle” because his risky decision to divide his army in the presence of a much larger enemy force resulted in a significant Confederate victory. The victory, a product of Lee’s audacity and Hooker’s timid combat performance, was tempered by heavy casualties and the mortal wounding of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson to friendly fire, a loss that Lee likened to “losing my right arm.” The Chancellorsville Campaign began with the crossing of the Rappahannock River by the Union army on the morning of April 27, 1863. Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. George Stoneman began a long distance raid against Lee’s supply lines at about the same time. This operation was completely ineffectual. Crossing the Rapidan River via Germanna and Ely’s Fords, the Federal infantry concentrated near Chancellorsville on April 30. Combined with the Union force facing Fredericksburg, Hooker planned a double envelopment, attacking Lee from both his front and rear.
On May 1, Hooker advanced from Chancellorsville toward Lee, but the Confederate general split his army in the face of superior numbers, leaving a small force at Fredericksburg to deter Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick from advancing, while he attacked Hooker’s advance with about 4/5ths of his army. Despite the objections of his subordinates, Hooker withdrew his men to the defensive lines around Chancellorsville, ceding the initiative to Lee. On May 2, Lee divided his army again, sending Stonewall Jackson’s entire corps on a flanking march that routed the Union XI Corps. While performing a personal reconnaissance in advance of his line, Jackson was wounded by fire from his own men, and Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart temporarily replaced him as corps commander. The fiercest fighting of the battle-and the second bloodiest day of the Civil War-occurred on May 3 as Lee launched multiple attacks against the Union position at Chancellorsville, resulting in heavy losses on both sides. That same day, Sedgwick advanced across the Rappahannock River, defeated the small Confederate force at Marye’s Heights in the Second Battle of Fredericksburg and then moved to the west. The Confederates fought a successful delaying action at the Battle of Salem Church and by May 4 had driven back Sedgwick’s men to Banks’s Ford, surrounding them on three sides. Sedgwick withdrew across the ford early on May 5, and Hooker withdrew the remainder of his army across U.S. Ford the night of May 5-6. The campaign ended on May 7 when Stoneman’s cavalry reached Union lines east of Richmond. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chancellorsville
Salem Church – Banks’ Ford – Virginia Civil War
American Civil War – May 3-4, 1863
After occupying Marye’s Heights on May 3, Sedgwick’s VI Corps marched out on the Plank Road with the objective of reaching US General Joseph Hooker’s force at Chancellorsville. He was delayed by Wilcox’s brigade of CSA General Jubal Early’s force at Salem Church. During the afternoon and night, Lee detached two of his divisions from the Chancellorsville lines and marched them to Salem Church. Several Union assaults were repulsed the next morning with heavy casualties, and the Confederates counterattacked, gaining some ground. After dark, Sedgwick withdrew across two pontoon bridges at Scott’s Dam under a harassing artillery fire. Hearing that Sedgwick had been repulsed, Hooker abandoned the campaign, recrossing on the night of May 5-6 to the north bank of the Rappahannock.
Result(s): Confederate victory – Location: Spotsylvania County
Campaign: Chancellorsville Campaign (April-May 1863) previous battle in campaign
Campaigns Date(s): May 3-4, 1863
Principal Commanders: Major General John Sedgwick [US]; General Robert E. Lee [CS]
Forces Engaged: Corps
Estimated Casualties: 5,000 total
http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va/va033.html
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville and the area from there to the east at Fredericksburg. The battle pitted Union Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s Army of the Potomac against an army half its size, Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. It is known as Lee’s “perfect battle” because of his risky but successful division of his army in the presence of a much larger enemy force. Lee’s audacity and Hooker’s timid performance in combat combined to result in a significant Union defeat. The Confederate victory was tempered by the mortal wounding of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson to friendly fire, a loss that Lee likened to “losing my right arm.” The Chancellorsville campaign began with the crossing of the Rappahannock River by the Union army on the morning of April 27, 1863. Crossing the Rapidan River via Germanna and Ely’s Fords, the Federals concentrated near Chancellorsville on April 30 and May 1. Heavy fighting began on May 1 and did not end until the Union forces retreated across the river on the night of May 5-6.
Union Statistics:
2.9 million men served – 1.5 million enlisted – 3 years duration – 630,000 casualties – 360,000 killed in action or died of disease
Confederate Statistics:
1.2 million men served – 800,000 enslited – 3 years duration – 340,000 casualties – 250,000 killed in action or died of disease
The Confederate States of America: South Carolina led the way out of the Union on December 20, 1860, and by March 1861, six more states, outraged over Lincoln’s election to the presidency and emboldened by South Carolina’s example, also seceded: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. After the bombardment of Fort Sumter and Lincoln’s call for troops to put down the rebellion in April, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina followed suit, bringing the number of states in the new Confederacy to eleven.
Burial Info: Fredericksburg National Cemetery – Chancellorsville, Sportslvania, PA
Cemetery – Humphreys’ Division Monument (1908) is in the center of the cemetery Fredericksburg National Cemetery was created by act of Congress, in July 1865 after reunification of the states, to honor the Federal soldiers who died in local battles or from disease. The cemetery was placed on Marye’s Heights, a Confederate stronghold during the Battle of Fredricksburg. There are a total of 15,243 Civil War interments, of those, only 2,473 were identified. Graves of soldiers, known and unknown, are distinguished by their markers. Identified soldiers are buried in individual graves, marked by a rounded headstone inscribed with the soldier’s name and state. Unknown soldiers were buried in mass graves, the headstones marking these plots contain two numbers. The first, upper, number identifies the plot while the second, lower, number identifies the number of soldiers buried in that plot. Approximately 100 20th century soldiers are buried in the cemetery, some of them along with their spouses. The cemetery allowed new burials until the 1940s. A separate cemetery exists on Marye’s Heights which predates the Civil War, the Willis Cemetery. This cemetery is distinguished from the Civil War burials by its brick wall. The Willis home, which burned down before the outbreak of war, was separated by a gap in the ridge from the Marye’s family home, Brompton.Previously known as Willis Hill, the name Marye’s Heights came to identify the whole of the ridge as it gained national exposure in 1863 +Located near the 127th Pennsylvania Volunteer Monument, and throughout the cemetery, are plaques containing verses from Theodore O’Hara’s 1847 poem The Bivouac of the Dead. O’Hara wrote the poem to commemorate American dead at the Battle of Buena Vista, fought during the Mexican-American War.
The following three versus can be found in the cemetery:
The muffled drum’s sad roll has beat
The soldier’s last Tattoo;
No more on life’s parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few.
No vision of the morrow’s strife
The warrior’s dream alarms;
No braying horn, nor screaming fife,
At dawn shall call to arms.
Rest on, embalmed and sainted dead,
Dear as the blood ye gave,
No impious footstep here shall tread
The herbage of your grave.
(Full Poem can be located at: http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/gettncem/bivouac.htm)
Civil War interments occurred in 1867.
The cemetery was transferred from the War Department on August 10, 1933.
The following monuments and memorials are located in the Fredericksburg National Cemetery:
* 127th Pennsylvania Volunteer Monument
* Fifth Corps Monument (dedicated 1901)
* Humphreys’ Division Monument
* Moesch Monument
* Parker’s Battery Memorial
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredericksburg_and_Spotsylvania_National_Military_Park
"Ever Widening Circle" 