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 February 17, 1864
HUNLEY ATTACKS HOUSATONIC
About 8:45 p.m., an officer of the sloop U.S.S. Housatonic, on duty off of Charleston, South Carolina, spotted “something in the water” speeding towards the ship. A torpedo struck the ship near the magazine causing an explosion. The Housatonic sank rapidly, stern first. All but five of the crew was saved.
The attacker was the C.S.S. H.L. Hunley, an experimental “semi-submersible” that was cigar-shaped with a torpedo or mine at the end of a long spar in the prow. After attacking the Housatonic, the explosion from the torpedo caused the Hunley’s demise. All eight crewmembers perished. The Hunley was discovered in 1995, recovered in 2000 and is now on display in Charleston.
The First Confederate Congress adjourned its fourth session amid overt discontent with the Davis Administration and the progress of the war.
Thursday February 18, 1864
Federal Major General William T. Sherman’s force at Meridian, Mississippi continued to disrupt Confederate railroads and supply depots.
Skirmishing occurred at Aberdeen, Mississippi; Mifflin, Maryville and Sevierville, Tennessee; Ringgold, Georgia and on the Piney River in Missouri.
President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation lifting the Federal blockade at Brownsville, Texas, allowing for normal trade as long as there was no commerce in military articles.
Friday February 19, 1864
Confederate President Jefferson Davis asked Admiral Franklin Buchanan what his plans were for defeating a reported naval demonstration on Mobile, Alabama.
Fighting occurred at Brown’s Ferry, Alabama; Houston, Egypt Station and Meridian, Mississippi; Grossetete, Louisiana; Independence, Missouri and at Waugh’s Farm near Batesville, Arkansas.
Saturday February 20, 1864
BATTLE OF OLUSTEE, FLORIDA
Brigadier General Truman Seymour’s 5,500 Federal troops clashed with Confederate Brigadier General Joseph Finegan’s force at Olustee, Florida. Two Union regiments, the 7th New Hampshire and the 8th United States Colored Troops, gave way in confusion at the opening of the battle. The Confederates, numbering 5,000 strong, attempted to engage the rear element of Seymour’s forces just before nightfall. They were repulsed by elements of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the 35th United States Colored Troops, both composed of African-American soldiers. The Federals lost 203 killed; 1,152 wounded and 506 missing for a total of 1,861 lost, about 34 percent of those engaged. The Confederates sustained losses of 93 killed, 847 wounded and 6 missing for an aggregate of 946 casualties, about 19 percent of those engaged. The Federals also lost six artillery pieces and 39 horses that were captured. The Battle of Olustee was the largest Civil War battle fought in the State of Florida.
Sunday February 21, 1864
Confederate President Jefferson Davis worried about the pressure on the inner bastion of the Confederacy - in Mississippi; against General Joseph E. Johnston in north Georgia; at Charleston, South Carolina; against Lieutenant General James Longstreet in east Tennessee; and, of course, the front in Virginia.
Monday February 22, 1864
Federal Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, again enmeshed in political intrigue, offered once more to resign. The crisis arose from the so-called “Pomeroy Circular,” a document signed by Sen. Samuel C. Pomeroy of Kansas, which advocated for Chase to run against Lincoln for the presidency. Chase, in a letter to the President, denied knowledge of the circular, but admitted consultation with those urging him to run.
Qualified voters in the restored Union government of Louisiana elected Michael Hahn governor of the army-occupied state.
Jeffrey Forrest, the younger brother of Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, was killed during the Battle of Ivey’s Farm near Okolona, Mississippi.
Tuesday February 23, 1864
Richmond, Virginia saw a buyer’s panic, with food and whiskey jumping rapidly in price.
President Abraham Lincoln wrote Secretary of Treasury Salmon P. Chase that we would comment more fully later about the Pomeroy circular, in which Chase was advocated as a Republican presidential candidate to replace Lincoln. The Cabinet met without Chase in attendance.
Federal troops of Major General George H. Thomas’s Army of the Cumberland, under Major General J.M. Palmer, drove towards Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston’s position near Dalton, Georgia, with fighting at Catoosa Station and Tunnel Hill, in what is often referred as the Demonstration on Dalton, Georgia.
Where Minnesota Regiments were the week of February 17-23, 1864
1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty at Fort Snelling prior to mustering out of Federal service.
2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty at Ringgold, Georgia until April 29, 1864.
3rd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On garrison duty in Little Rock, Arkansas until April 28, 1864.
4th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty in Huntsville, Alabama until June 22, 1864.
5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – At Black River Bridge, Mississippi, for duty during the Meridian Campaign.
6th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty at various Minnesota outposts for garrison duty until June 9, 1864.
7th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty in St. Louis, Missouri until April 20, 1864.
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 – Stationed at Rolla, Jefferson City, LaMine Bridge, Warrensburg, Independence, Knob Noster, Kansas City, Waynesville and Franklin with headquarters in Jefferson City until April 14, 1864.
10th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On garrison and provost duty at Benton Barracks, Missouri until April 21, 1864.
1st Regiment Minnesota Cavalry “Mounted Rangers” – Formally mustered out of service on December 7, 1863. Inactive.
2nd Regiment Minnesota Cavalry - On duty at Fort Snelling and at frontier posts throughout Minnesota until May 24, 1864.
Brackett’s Battalion of Minnesota Cavalry – Battalion veteranized and detached from the 5th Iowa Cavalry, left Alabama and headed to Minnesota, where it arrived on February 25 for duty at Fort Snelling.
Hatch’s Independent Battalion of Cavalry - Companies A,B,C and D on frontier duty in Pembina until May 5, 1864.
1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery – On duty at Vicksburg, Mississippi until April 4, 1864.
2nd Independent Battery Minnesota Light Artillery – On duty at Rossville, Georgia until March 21, 1864.
3rd Independent Battery Minnesota Light Artillery - Various sections of the battery were stationed at Fort Snelling, Fort Ridgely, Fort Ripley and Pembina until June 5, 1864.
2nd United States Sharpshooters, Company A – On duty around the Rapidan River, Virginia until May 4, 1864.
