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 June 17, 1863
Confederate General Robert E. Lee continued moving his forces northward into Maryland. Skirmishes occurred at Catoctin Creek and Point of Rocks, Maryland. Cavalry units skirmished at Middleburg, Thoroughfare Gap and Aldie, Virginia.
In Vicksburg, Mississippi, the siege continued. Federal forces were constantly annoyed by the attacks on transports and other vessels on the Mississippi River such as one on this day near Commerce, Mississippi.
Thursday June 18, 1863
At Vicksburg, Mississippi, Major General Ulysses Grant relieved Major General John A. McClernand from command of the XIII Army Corps. For a long time McClernand had posed a difficult problem for Grant. He had originally been given permission by Washington to organize and probably command the Vicksburg expedition, but Grant through he was insubordinate, self-seeking, and incompetent. The final break occurred when McClernand issued a congratulatory order for his troops after the assault on Vicksburg, praising his men and casting aspersions on other segments of the army. Major General E.O. C. Ord was appointed to command the corps, creating more peace and cooperation in Grant’s command.
In Virginia, General Robert E. Lee reported that his three corps were continuing their northward advance and that Major General J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry held the approaches to the Blue Ridge. There was skirmishing near Aldie, Virginia.
Friday June 19, 1863
In the east, Confederate Lieutenant General Richard Ewell’s II Corps moved north of the Potomac River towards Pennsylvania, while Lieutenant Generals Ambrose Powell Hill and James Longstreet brought their corps north out of Virginia.
Saturday June 20, 1863
West Virginia officially took its place in the Union as the thirty-fifth state by virtue of a presidential proclamation.
In Baltimore, breastworks were being erected north and west of the city as a precaution against Confederate raids. At Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, the owner of the Union Hotel blurred his sign with brown paint.
Skirmishes occurred at Middletown, Maryland; Diascund Bridge, Virginia, and Government Springs, Utah Territory.
Sunday June 21, 1863
Relatively heavy skirmishing continued along the fringes of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s advance northward, with action at Upperville, near Gainesville, at Haymarket and Thoroughfare Gap in Virginia, along with Frederick, Maryland.
In Mississippi, fighting erupted at Hudsonville and on Helena Road; in Louisiana at Brashear City; in Tennessee at Powder Springs Gap; and on Dixon’s Island, South Carolina.
Monday June 22, 1863
Confederates continued to move north in Maryland and Virginia, with skirmishes near Aldie and Dover, Virginia, and at Greencastle, Pennsylvania.
Around Vicksburg, troops fought again on the Big Black River, at Jones’s Plantation near Birdsong Ferry, and at Hill’s Plantation near Bear Creek.
Tuesday June 23, 1863
From Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans finally moved towards Confederate General Braxton Bragg’s forces at Tullahoma. Exhorted to take the pressure off of Major General Ulysses Grant at Vicksburg by preventing Confederate reinforcements, Rosecrans conducted the Tullahoma Campaign brilliantly by outflanking Bragg and forcing him to fall back behind the Tennessee River by the end of the month. The campaign ended in July. Though no major fighting occurred, numerous skirmishes occurred including two on this date - Rover and Unionville, Tennessee. Now all three major fronts of the war - Virginia, the Mississippi River, and middle Tennessee - were now active.
Where Minnesota Regiments were the week of June 17-23, 1863
1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On the march to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty at Franklin, Tennessee until June 23, 1863.
3rd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Participated in Siege of Vicksburg until July 4, 1863.
4th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Participated in Siege of Vicksburg until July 4, 1863.
5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Participated in the Siege of Vicksburg until July 4, 1863.
6th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Participated in Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley’s expedition in Dakota Territory until September 12, 1863.
7th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Participated in Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley’s expedition in Dakota Territory until September 12, 1863.
8th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Marched to Fort Ridgely for duty until June 5, 1864.
9th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Participated in Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley’s expedition in Dakota Territory until September 12, 1863.
10th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Participated in Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley’s expedition in Dakota Territory until September 12, 1863.
1st Regiment Minnesota Cavalry “Mounted Rangers” – Participated in Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley’s expedition in Dakota Territory until September 12, 1863.
Brackett’s Battalion of Minnesota Cavalry – Participated in Rosecrans Tullahoma Campaign in Middle Tennessee until July 7, 1863.
1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery – On duty during siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, until July 4, 1863.
2nd Independent Battery, Minnesota Light Artillery – Participated in Rosecrans Tullahoma Campaign in Middle Tennessee until July 7, 1863.
3rd Battery, Minnesota Light Artillery - Participated in Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley’s expedition in Dakota Territory until September 12, 1863.
2nd United States Sharpshooters, Company A – On the march to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
