February 17 In Civil War History

Jim Klag

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on this day 4.jpg
On this day in Civil War history
Compiled by Mitchell Werksman and Jim Klag
February 17, 1804 - Samuel Read Anderson, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Bedford County, VA.(d. 1883)
February 17, 1819 - After several days of sharp debate the House passes the Missouri statehood bill including both parts of the Tallmadge Amendment, marking the first legislation demanding the abolition of slavery. The act is sent to the Senate where the bill is never voted on.
February 17, 1824 - William Farrar "Baldy" Smith, American Major General (Union Army), born in St. Albans, Vermont (d. 1903)
February 17, 1837 - Francis Jay Herron, American Major General (Union Army), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1902)
February 17, 1862 - Ulysses S. Grant, U.S.A., is appointed Maj. Gen.
February 17, 1862 - David Bell Birney, USA, is appointed Brig. Gen.
February 17, 1862 - Action at Sugar Creek, or Pea Ridge, AR, with Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, USA.
February 17, 1862 - General John Floyd arrives in Nashville after leaving Simon Bolivar Buckner to surrender at Fort
February 17, 1863 - West Virginia approves a revised state constitution.
February 17, 1863 - General Grant rescinds the order halting publication of the Chicago Times as a "copperhead" paper.
February 17, 1863 - Union forces burn Hopefield, AR, in retaliation after the Confederates from that town attack the USS Hercules.
February 17, 1863 - Maj. Gen. Samuel G. French, CSA, is placed in temporary command of the Dept. of North Carolina and Southern Virginia.
February 17, 1863 - The Union ironclad, USS Indianola, positions itself at the mouth of the Red River on the Mississippi River to disturb Confederate riverboats operating in the area.
February 17, 1863 - Union expedition from Lexington to Clifton, TN. (Feb 17-21)
Federal expedition from Memphis, TN, against Confederate guerrillas harassing the Federals rear.
February 17, 1863 - Federal expedition from Murfreesboro to Liberty, TN. (Feb 17-20).
February 17, 1864 - James Patton Anderson, C.S.A., is appointed Maj. Gen.
February 17, 1864 - Skirmish at Black's Mill, AR.
February 17, 1864 - Skirmish at Horse Head Creek, AR.
February 17, 1864 - Skirmish in the Houlka Swamp, near Houston, MS, the Meridian, MS, Expedition.
February 17, 1864 - Skirmish near Pontotoc, MS, with Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman, USA, the Meridian, MS, Expedition.
February 17, 1864 - The US steamer, USS Housatonic, is destroyed at the city of Charleston, SC, sunk by a torpedo from the CSS H. L. Hunley, the Confederate experimental submarine, which also sinks in the process.
February 17, 1864 - Federal expedition from Island No. 10 to Riley's Landing, TN, where the Federals capture a band of guerrillas caught asleep, lying with their pistols under their pillows.
February 17, 1864 - Federal expedition from Motley's Ford, TN, to Murphy and vicinity, NC, and the confiscation of large quantities of corn. (Feb 17-22)
February 17, 1864 - Maj. Gen. William H. French, USA, resumes the command of the 3rd US Army Corps, the Army of the Potomac, VA.
February 17, 1864 - Federal scout from Warrenton, and skirmish near Piedmont, VA. It being very cold, the Federals Marched rapidly, and happen to capture 13 of Maj. John S. Mosby's Partisan Rangers. (Feb 17-18)
February 17, 1865 - Charleston, SC is evacuated.
February 17, 1865 - Skirmish at Fort Buchanan, the Arizona Territory, as the Apache Indians, on the warpath, attack the Fort, capturing rations, weapons, killing and mutilating some Federal soldiers, before fleeing.
February 17, 1865 - Federal scout from Pine Bluff, AR, to the Arkansas River, with skirmish (Feb. 17) near Bayou Meto, AR. (Feb 17-18)
February 17, 1865 - Skirmish in Washington County, AR.
February 17, 1865 - Federal expedition from Plaquemine to The Park, LA. (Feb 17-22)
February 17, 1865 - Federal expedition from Eastport to Iuka, MS, to capture the Rebels who were making a habit of going into Iuka every night, and remaining there until morning. Upon moving on Iuka, the Yankees find that Lieut. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA, had moved all his men about a week ago to West Point, MS, about 100 miles below Verona. (Feb 17-18)
February 17, 1865 - Skirmish near Smithville, NC.
February 17, 1865 - The Confederate forces, under Lieut. Gen. William J. Hardee, CSA, evacuate Charleston, SC, and heads to Cheraw, SC.
February 17, 1865 - The Union forces, under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, USA, occupy Columbia, SC. Lieut. Gen. Wade Hampton's Confederate cavalry set fire to cotton bales before fleeing. Union soldiers uncover barrels of whiskey, and that night the majority of Columbia catches fire and burns. Yankees blame the Rebels.
February 17, 1865 - Federal expedition from Whitesburg aboard the gunboats, Sherman and Stone River, to Fearn's Ferry, TN, and skirmish with guerrillas 3 miles from Warrenton. (Feb 17-18)
February 17, 1865 - The Territory of Utah and that part of the Nebraska Territory lying west of the 22d degree longitude, is added to the Dept. of the Missouri.
February 17, 1865 - The siege of Petersburg is ongoing.
February 17, 1907 - Henry Steel Olcott, American military officer (Union) and co-founder of the Theosophical Society, dies at 74 in Adyar, Madras, India.
 

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February 17, 1864 - The US steamer, USS Housatonic, is destroyed at the city of Charleston, SC, sunk by a torpedo from the CSS H. L. Hunley, the Confederate experimental submarine, which also sinks in the process.

Sinking of USS Housatonic - Wikipedia


USS Housatonic - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Housatonic
February 17, 1865 - Skirmish at Fort Buchanan, the Arizona Territory, as the Apache Indians, on the warpath, attack the Fort, capturing rations, weapons, killing and mutilating some Federal soldiers, before fleeing.



Here is the link and what happens...
https://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1856m.html


On February 17, 1865, with the Civil War winding down, the Union Army was sparsely defending the territory around Fort Buchanan. Only nine soldiers from the 1st California Cavalry defended the fort itself, essentially a vedette station and a few other military buildings. The fort had no walls. Three men had been traveling to the fort and were attacked and killed by Apache warriors. The Chiricahua Apache, seventy-five in number, continued to the fort, and launched a surprise attack. Outnumbered, the men of the 1st California Cavalry eventually escaped to the Santa Rita Mountains. One man was killed and the fort abandoned for good. It was the only military installation conquered by the Apache during the Chiricahua War. Two years later another fort, Fort Crittenden, was built one half mile east of the original Fort Buchanan.

Here: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/fort-buchanan-arizona/

Fort Buchanan, Arizona


Fort Buchanan, Arizona Ruins, 1914

Fort Buchanan, Arizona was one of a number of military posts established in the territory acquired from Mexico in 1848. Built in 1856, it was the first post established within the bounds of the Gadsden Purchase made in 1853. First founded as Camp Moore, the post was later renamed Fort Buchanan in honor of President James Buchanan. Its mission was to protect the area settlers and stagecoaches from Chiricahua Apache. A detachment from the post, led by Lieutenant George N. Bascom, was involved in the episode with Cochise at Apache Pass that precipitated the Apache Wars (1861-1886).

At the beginning of the Civil War, U.S. troops were withdrawn from Arizona to New Mexico and to keep the fort from falling into Confederate hands, it was destroyed in July 1861. The following year, General Carleton’s California Volunteers occasionally camped at the site. To aid in the renewed effort against the Apache, the post was reactivated as Camp Crittenden on a hill about a half-mile to the east. Today, the privately-owned sites of Fort Buchanan and Camp Crittenden are used for grazing. The only remains are scattered rocks. mounds of earth, and fragmented adobe ruins.

Fort Buchanan was located three miles west of present-day Sonoita, Arizona on the east slope of what is now called “Hog Canyon.” Camp Crittenden was established half a mile east on the flats.






 
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