Information courtesy of the
Minnesota Civil War Commemoration Task Force
(www.mncivilwar150.com and “Minnesota Civil War 150” on Facebook)
Major Highlights for the Week
Wednesday November 26, 1862
President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Belle Plain, Virginia for a conference with Major General Ambrose Burnside, Army of the Potomac commander.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote to the governors of the Confederate states appealing for aid in enrolling conscripts and in securing more supplies for army use. He also called for the use of slave labor on defense works.
Skirmishing occurred near Somerville, Tennessee.
Thursday November 27, 1862
President Lincoln spent the morning at Aquia Creek, Virginia in conference with Major General Ambrose Burnside. The general favored a direct assault on Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s forces at Fredericksburg, while the president proposed building up a force south of the Rappahannock River and another on the Pamunkey River for a three-pronged attack. Burnside turned down Lincoln’s plan.
Skirmishing occurred at Mill Creek, Tennessee and at Carthage, Missouri.
Friday November 28, 1862
Federal forces won an engagement at Cane Hill, Arkansas, when Brigadier General James G. Blunt attacked Confederate Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke’s forces and drove them back with considerable losses, giving the Federals a momentary edge in the Trans-Mississippi fighting.
Skirmishes occurred at Holly Springs, Mississippi in advance of the Federal’s build-up of supplies for their advance on Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Saturday November 29, 1862
Confederate Major General John B. Magruder assumed command of the District of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Sever skirmishes occurred today at Lumpkin’s Mill and Waterford, Mississippi; Stewart’s Ferry and Baird’s Mills, Tennessee, near the Stone River.
Sunday November 30, 1862
It was a quiet end to a month of lesser fighting, command changes, and preparations for things to come. There were skirmishes at Chulahoma, Mississippi and on the Tallahatchie River.
Monday December 1, 1862
The third session of the Thirty-seventh Congress of the United States convened and accepted the State of the Union message from President Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln reported that foreign relations were satisfactory, commerce was in good shape, Federal receipts were exceeding expenditures and recommended three constitutional amendments: that every state which abolished slavery before 1900 would receive compensation; that all slaves who had gained freedom during the war would remain free and loyal owners compensated; and that Congress would provide for colonization outside the country of free colored persons with their consent.
Tuesday December 2, 1862
Along the Rappahannock River at Leeds Ferry, a skirmish occurred as Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia engaged Major General Ambrose Burnside’s Federal Army of the Potomac for the first time since Burnside took command. Other fighting in Virginia was on the Blackwater River near Franklin, near Dumfries, while a skirmish occurred at Saline in Indian Territory.
Where Minnesota Regiments were the week of November 26-December 2, 1862
1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty at Falmouth, Virginia.
2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On guard duty at Cunningham’s Ford on the Cumberland River.
3rd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty at Fort Snelling, Minnesota until January 16, 1863.
4th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Duty at White’s Station and Memphis, Tennessee until February 24, 1863.
5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Companies B, C and D remained in Minnesota and Dakota Territory on garrison duty. The remaining companies were on Major General Ulysses Grant’s Central Mississippi Campaign until January 1863.
6th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On garrison duty at Fort Snelling, Glencoe, Forest City and Kingston until February 1863.
7th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On garrison duty in Mankato and other points in Minnesota until June 1863.
8th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On frontier duty at various points in Minnesota: Anoka, Princeton, Monticello, Kingston, Manannah, Paynesville, Fort Ripley, Sauk Center, Pomme de Terre, Alexandria and Fort Abercrombie until May 1864.
9th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On garrison duty in various frontier Minnesota communities until June 1863.
10th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Regiment on detached service for garrison duty at various outposts in frontier Minnesota until June 1863.
1st Regiment Minnesota Cavalry “Mounted Rangers” – Organized at St. Cloud, St. Peter and Fort Snelling for frontier duty against Indians until June 1863.
Brackett’s Battalion of Minnesota Cavalry – On scout duty at Eddyville, Kentucky.
1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery – On Major General Ulysses Grant’s Central Mississippi Campaign near Vicksburg, Mississippi until January 1863.
2nd Independent Battery, Minnesota Light Artillery – On duty at Nashville, Tennessee until December 26, 1862.
2nd United States Sharpshooters, Company A – On duty at Falmouth, Virginia.
