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 April 1, 1863
Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet’s command was reorganized to create the Department of North Carolina under Major General Daniel H. Hill, the Department of Richmond under Major General Arnold Elzey, and the Department of Southern Virginia under Major General S.G. French.
Thursday April 2, 1863
A mob crowded around a wagon in Richmond, Virginia, demanding bread. What followed was the so-called “bread riot” of the Confederate capital. Exact causes are still obscure, but there was genuine want in Richmond and elsewhere in the beleaguered South. Confederate President Jefferson Davis addressed the crowd from a wagon near the Capitol building and threw them the money he had in his pocket. Although a minor incident, it gave pause to the Confederate government and was unsettling throughout the Confederacy.
Major General Oliver O. Howard superseded Major General Carl Schurz in command of the Federal Army of the Potomac’s Eleventh Corps.
Friday April 3, 1863
In Reading, Pennsylvania, an uproar occurred over the arrest of four men alleged to be members of the pro-Southern Knights of the Golden Circle.
Federal riverboat crews destroyed Palmyra, Tennessee in retaliation for an attack on a Union convoy April 2.
Saturday April 4, 1863
Federal forces failed to capture a strong Confederate battery in an engagement at Rodman’s Point, not far from Washington, North Carolina.
Sunday April 5, 1863
President Abraham Lincoln conferred with Major General Joseph Hooker, commander of the Army of the Potomac, while skirmishes occurred at Davis’s Mill, Tennessee and near New Carthage, Louisiana.
Monday April 6, 1863
Skirmishing continued near New Carthage, Louisiana on the Mississippi River; Town Creek, Alabama; Nixonton, North Carolina; and at Burlington, Purgitsville and Goings’s Ford, West Virginia.
Tuesday April 7, 1863
Nine Federal ironclads under Flag Officer Samuel DuPont steamed into Charleston Harbor and attacked Fort Sumter in the afternoon. Both Sumter and Fort Moultrie returned the fire. The U.S.S. Weehawken was struck 53 times in forty minutes, the U.S.S. Passaic 35 times, U.S.S. Montauk 47 times, U.S.S. Nantucket 51 times, U.S.S. Patapsco 47 times while other vessels were similarly hit and damaged. Confederates threw 2,209 shells compared to just 154 from the ironclads. Battered by the forts and endangered by obstruction and torpedoes, the Federal fleet withdrew with five disabled vessels. The U.S.S. Keokuk, hit 90 times, sunk the next morning.
Where Minnesota Regiments were the week of April 1-7, 1863
1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – In camp near Falmouth, Virginia until April 1863.
2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty at Chapel Hill, Tennessee until June 4, 1863.
3rd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty at Fort Heiman, Kentucky until June 2, 1863.
4th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Expedition to Yazoo Pass via Moon Lake, Yazoo Pass, Coldwater and Tallahatchie Rivers until April 8, 1863.
5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty at Duckport, Louisiana until April 29, 1863.
6th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty at Camp Pope near Iowa City, Iowa until June 16, 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 duty at Fort Donelson, Tennessee until June 5, 1863.
1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery – On duty at Lake Providence, Louisiana until April 22, 1863.
2nd Independent Battery, Minnesota Light Artillery – On duty at Murfreesboro Tennessee until June 4, 1863.
2nd United States Sharpshooters, Company A – In camp at Falmouth, Virginia until April 27, 1863.
