Today in U.S. Civil War History September 5, 1861 - Anyone who was under the impression that modern day media are the first to take an interest in military affairs, should have been in Charleston, S.C. on this day. There, the “Mercury” launched into its editors analysis of what it called “inactivity” by the Army of Northern Virginia in the area of Washington. According to the paper, there was no reason why, with the army on the outskirts of the town, they should not just march in and take it. The minor impediment of the Army of the Potomac being in the way was not taken into consideration. September 5, 1862 - U.S. Gen John Pope, late commander of the Army of Virginia, had retreated from the Shenandoah Valley all the way to Washington, and then asked General in Chief Halleck as to the status of his command. Halleck answered today: Pope’s army, being in the vicinity anyway, was being merged into the Army of the Potomac. Pope was out of a job. He was not amused by this development and spent many years complaining about the matter. He did get a new assignment, though: he was sent to the Department of the Northwest, which included Minnesota, which had been undergoing an uprising of the Sioux. Neither Pope nor the people he was supposed to protect were thrilled with this development. September 5, 1863 - Early in the War, the Confederacy had realized that it had neither enough warships nor the design skills or manufacturing capacity to make more. Emissaries had been sent to England to contract with the greatest shipbuilding experts in the world to rectify this problem. The ironclads, known as Laird Ramships, were now nearing completion in the shipyards of Liverpool and Birkenhead. U.S. ambassador Charles Francis Adams therefore called on the British Foreign Minister Lord Russell today and was undiplomatically blunt: if the English released these ships to the Confederacy, “it would be superfluous for me to point out to your Lordship that this is war.” Whether Lord Russell felt any great fear at this threat is unknown, but in fact he was able to assure Adams that the ships had been ordered “detained in port” three days earlier. They were never released to the Confederacy.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 08:28:16 +0000
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