2014 events

January
6 In the New Mexico Territory, Colonel Kit Carson traps Navajos in Cañon de Chelly, sending them on the ‘Long Walk’ to Fort Sumner.
8 In Richmond, Virginia John Hunt Morgan completes his escape from Ohio.

February
1 In Washington, DC, Abraham Lincoln calls for 500,000 additional draftees. Congress revives the rank of lieutenant general, so they can award it to US Grant.
7 Union troops seize Jacksonville, Florida.
9 In Richmond, Virginia, 109 Union POWs dig their way out of Libby prison.
17 Charleston, South Carolina The CSS Hunley sinks the USS Housatonic and itself, killing its third crew.
20 The Battle of Olustee, Florida. The CWgasm troops are there, dressed in the uniform of their choice.
27 The first Federal troops arrive at the new POW camp at Andersonville, Georgia.
28 General Kilpatrick ("Kilcavalry") leads a cavalry raid to free Union POWs from Richmond.

March
1 In Washington, DC, Abraham Lincoln nominates US Grant as lieutenant general and commander of the Army.
In Richmond, Virginia, the Kilpatrick/Dahlgren raid falls apart in the dark.
2 In Washington, DC, the Senate confirms US Grant’s new rank and position.
8 At the White House, Grant meets Lincoln for the first time.
10 At Alexandria, Louisiana, the Red River campaign opens.
24 Confederate cavalry under Nathan Bedford Forrest captures Union City, Tennessee.

April
6 In New Orleans, the state convention adopts a new constitution and abolishes slavery.
8 In Washington, DC, the Senate passes the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. In Louisiana, the Battle of Sabine Crossroads.
11 On the Red River in Louisiana, Federal troops withdraw from the campaign.
12 At Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Nathan Bedford Forrest tries to get the Union commander to surrender the fort, then attacks. The defenders, most of them black troops, are massacred.
17 At Plymouth, North Carolina, Confederate troops under General Hoke attacked 3,000 Union defenders; once the CSS Albemarle drove off the defending Union gunboats, the Union troops surrendered.
22 In Washington, DC, Congress adds In God We Trust to all coinage.

May
4 In the Wilderness Campaign, the Army of the Potomac, nominally under the command of Meade but actually directed by Grant, crosses the Rapidan.
5 Virginia. Battle of the Wilderness. Fighting begins in earnest along the Orange Turnpike and, later, the Plank Road.
6 Longstreet is wounded by friendly fire during a reconnaissance ride in the Wilderness. General Seymour, USA, is captured late in the day. On the Peninsula, Butler’s men fail to move forward, though Richmond is only fifteen miles away.
7 In the Wilderness, rain puts out the fires in the brush, saving the remaining wounded. The race to Spotsylvania begins.
Sherman begins his ‘March to the Sea’ from Atlanta.
8 Virginia. Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse. The Confederates arrive in Spotsylvania first, ahead of Warren’s troops, and Warren’s cavalry clashes with Stuart’s cavalry.
9 At Spotsylvania, General Sedgwick comments to a skittish soldier, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance”, just before being hit by a sharpshooter and dying. Sheridan’s cavalry rides out toward Richmond.
In the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman’s army bumps into the Confederates at Resaca, but McPherson pulls back.
10 At Spotsylvania, the wounded Longstreet has been replaced by Anderson, and AP Hill (out sick) by Jubal Early, and the slain Sedgwick by Wright. General Butler’s men return to their positions on the Peninsula.
11 JEB Stuart’s cavalry take up defensive positions at Yellow Tavern; Sheridan’s cavalry arrives and, in the fighting, Stuart is mortally wounded. Sheridan gives up his drive on Richmond and moves south toward Butler.
12 In the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman continues to advance and Johnston continues to retreat.
Federal troops attack the Horseshoe Salient, taking the first line but being mowed down by the second line of defense. Now known as the ‘Bloody Angle’, the battle costs the Union 6800 casualties to 5000 for the Confederacy.
14 In the Peninsula Campaign, Sheridan’s cavalry makes contact with Butler. In Georgia, the Battle of Resaca.
15 In the Spotsylvania Campaign, there's a skirmish at Piney Branch Church. In Virginia, the Battle of New Market. The CWgasm troops are there, dressed as they choose.
16 In the Peninsula Campaign, it's the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff. The CWgasm troops are there, dressed as they choose.
19 In the Spotsylvania Campaign, Lee sends General Ewell to make contact with the Federal armies; he does so at Harris’ Farm.
In the Atlanta Campaign, Johnston stops long enough to order General JB Hood to mount an attack, which fails. The Confederates continue their retreat.
20 Grant sends General Hancock’s corps toward Hanover Junction in Virginia.
22 In the Richmond Campaign, General Ewell arrives at Hanover Junction ahead of Grant and entrenches.
23 In the Richmond Campaign, General AP Hill arrives at Hanover Junction and digs in. While the Union army splits in two, Lee is ill and cannot follow up.
24 In the Atlanta Campaign, Johnston continues his retreat in the face of pressure from Sherman.
The Battle of the North Anna continues. General Sheridan completes his ‘ride around the enemy’ and returns to the Army of the Potomac.
25 In the Richmond Campaign, the Battle of the North Anna continues.
26 In the Richmond Campaign, Grant and Meade move the Army of the Potomac across the river and around Lee’s right toward Hanovertown.
27 Sheridan’s cavalry put two pontoon bridges across the Pamunkey and occupy Hanovertown.
28 The Army of Northern Virginia moves hastily in front of Grant’s army near Cold Harbor, Virginia.
30 John Hunt Morgan, CSA, begins attacking Sherman’s supply lines in Kentucky.
Federal troops are within ten miles of Richmond.
31 In Cleveland, Ohio, the Radical Republicans nominate General John C. Frémont as their candidate for president.

June
1 In the Richmond Campaign, the Battle of Cold Harbor. The CWgasm troops are there, dressed as they choose.
In the Atlanta Campaign, General Stoneman, under Sherman’s command, captures the railroad line at Altoona Pass.
2 In the Richmond Campaign, the Battle of Cold Harbor. The CWgasm troops are there, dressed as they choose.
3 In the Richmond Campaign, the Battle of Cold Harbor. The CWgasm troops are there, dressed as they choose. The Federals lose 7000 killed and wounded in less than half an hour.
4 In the Richmond Campaign, the armies lie quiet, listening to the wounded.
In the Atlanta Campaign, with Sherman outflanking him again, Johnston retreats.
7 Only two of the wounded from Cold Harbor have survived for four days to be picked up.
9 General Butler makes another mismanaged attempt to attack Petersburg, but is repulsed by Confederates numbering only half his force.
10 At Brice’s Crossroads, Mississippi, General Sturgis, USA, meets General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s cavalry, but is beaten soundly.
At Richmond, Virginia, the Confederacy expands the draft to include all men from 17 to 50.
11 In the Richmond Campaign, General Custer’s men attack General Hampton’s column. General Hunter’s men burn the Virginia Military Institute, and Lee send Jubal A. Early to deal with him.
The CSS Alabama goes into Cherbourg, France for refitting.
12 The Army of the Potomac sneaks out of Cold Harbor and across the James River, leaving Lee in the dark.
John Hunt Morgan, CSA, is beaten by 1500 Federals in Cynthiana, Kentucky.
14 In the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman’s guns shell Confederate positions, while General Polk is killed during a staff meeting atop Pine Mountain near Marietta, Georgia.
15 In the Petersburg Campaign, General ‘Baldy’ Smith, USA, fails to take advantage of a night assault on Petersburg, prolonging the war by months.
16 Badly-coordinated attacks continue against Petersburg, while reinforcments continue to arrive from Lee. With the opportunity to take the city lost, Grant begins the siege.
19 At Cherbourg, France, the CSS Alabama sails out to meet the USS Kearsarge, and is sunk. Some of the crew, including Captain Semmes, are rescued by a British steam yacht, the Deerhound, which takes them to safety in England.
21 In the Petersburg Campaign, Grant orders General Birney to seize the Weldon Railroad and General Wright to cut the railroad to Lynchburg.
22 Both Birney and Wright are stopped by AP Hill’s divisions.
23 In the Petersburg Campaign, General Sheridan moves toward Grant’s army with a ‘huge wagon train’.
24 Work begins at Petersburg on a tunnel to be exploded under the Confederate lines.
27 In the Atlanta Campaign in Georgia, Sherman’s troops assault the Confederate lines at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. It is a total failure, garnering the Union some 2000 killed and wounded, with Confederate losses under 300.
In Washington, DC, Abraham Lincoln formally accepts the nomination for president.
30 In Washington, DC, Secretary of the Treasury Chase submits another in a series of resignation letters. To his surprise, Lincoln accepts it.
Beginning a raid into the North, Jubal A. Early moves his army to New Market, Virginia.

July
2 In the Atlanta Campaign, General Johnston, CSA, retreats past Marietta, Georgia.
At Winchester, Virginia, Jubal A. Early heads north toward the Potomac.
4 In the Atlanta Campaign, Johnston retreats again, to the Chattahoochee River, northwest of Atlanta.
5 At Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, Jubal A. Early avoids Sigel’s forces and begins crossing the Potomac at Shepherdstown.
8 Johnston orders the Army of Tennessee south to the gates of Atlanta.
9 On the Monocacy River in Virginia, General Lew Wallace attempts to hold up Jubal A. Early’s drive toward Washington, with no success. Battle of Monocacy.
11 Jubal A. Early’s troops arrive in Silver Springs, Maryland, but fail to attack Washington.
13 Jubal A. Early’s troops retreat toward the Potomac, pursued by General Wright.
14 Jubal A. Early’s men cross the Potomac at Leesburg, Maryland into Virginia.
16 In the Shenandoah Valley, Jubal A. Early’s troops do some foraging.
17 In the Atlanta Campaign, Jefferson Davis relieves General Johnston from command, replacing him with John Bell Hood.
20 In the Atlanta Campaign, Hood’s soldiers attack General Thomas’ men, who are resting after crossing Peachtree Creek.
22 In the Atlanta Campaign, General McPherson goes to investigate a Confederate attack, is confronted by skirmishers, declines to surrender, and is shot off his horse and killed.
30 In the Petersburg Campaign, with the mining completed the explosives under the Confederate lines are detonated at 0445, leaving a crater 170x75x30 in their positions, and killing 278 men. The initial advantage is not taken up, and even sending in the specially-trained black assault troops fails to move the 15,000 attackers out of the crater. The Union takes 3748 casualties.
Jubal A. Early’s cavalry ride into Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and demand reparations of $100,000 in gold; when it cannot be raised, the town is burned.
In the Atlanta Campaign, Stoneman and 700 CSA cavalry are captured at Macon.

August
1 Grant gives Sheridan the task of cleaning out the Shenandoah Valley, especially of Early’s men.
3 Federal troops attack Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island in Mobile Bay.
5 Admiral Farragut orders the fleet into Mobile Bay, exclaiming Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
18 In the Petersburg Campaign, General Warren, USA, fights at Globe Tavern, Yellow House, and Blick’s Station on the Weldon Railroad.
23 In Mobile Bay, when Fort Morgan falls the city of Mobile is closed to blockade runners, leaving only Wilmington, North Carolina as an open port.
In the Petersburg Campaign, AP Hill’s men attack Federal troops under Hancock on the Weldon Railroad.
31 In Chicago, the Democratic National Convention nominates General George McClellan for president.

September
1 In Georgia, the Army of Tennessee under John Bell Hood retreats out of Atlanta, burning whatever stores they cannot carry with them. Battle of Jonesboro.
2 Slocum's XX Corps (USA) enters Atlanta.
3 In Washington, DC, Abraham Lincoln declares a day of national celebration.
4 At Greenville, Tennessee, John Hunt Morgan and his raiders are surrounded by Union troops under General Gillem; Morgan is shot and killed, along with 100 of his troopers, with 75 taken prisoner.
5 In Louisiana, the citizens vote to abolish slavery.
7 In an unpopular order, General Sherman orders the evacuation of all civilians from Atlanta.
17 In Washington, DC, John C. Frémont withdraws from the presidential race in favor of Lincoln.
19 In Virginia, the Battle of Winchester.
27 Guerrillas under ‘Bloody’ Bill Anderson ride into Centralia, Missouri, burn it, shoot twenty Federal soldiers on an arriving train, and ambush a pursuing cavalry unit, killing 116.

October
7 Off Bahia, Brazil, the USS Wachusett captures the CSS Florida over the protestations of the Brazilians.
8 The CSS Shenandoah sails from London, England.
19 In Vermont, a small group of Confederate raiders, led by Lieutenant Bennet Young, crosses the border from Canada and descend upon St. Albans. They rob three local banks, but resistance by the locals prevent them from burning the town. Eleven of the raiders make it back across the border, but Canadian authorities release them after determining they have no jurisdiction.
19 In the Shenandoah Valley, Jubal A. Early attacks General Crook’s men, who retreat in disarray. Sheridan, awakened in Winchester by gunfire, rides down the Valley and collects the retreating soldiers as he comes. Battle of Cedar Creek. Leading a counterattack, they drive the Confederates from the field.
20 In Washington, DC, Abraham Lincoln formally establishes Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
24 In Missouri, General Sterling Price and his men retreat south with a train of plunder from their month-long raid through the state.
25 Union cavalry catch up with Price's columns at Marais des Cygnes (the Marsh of Swans) in Kansas, capturing two Confederate generals (including Marmaduke), four colonels, a thousand men, and ten pieces of artillery.
26 Near Richmond, Missouri, Union troops ambush and kill 'Bloody' Bill Anderson.
27 At Petersburg, Virginia, General Grant orders an attack to gain control of the Southside Railroad and the Boydton Road; the attack fails, frustrated by troops under General Ambrose Hill (CSA). 1194 Federal troops are killed or wounded, with 564 missing; Confederate casualties are unknown.
29 On the Tennessee River, General NB Forrest (CSA) captures the Federal steamer Mazeppa.
30 The Army of Tennessee moves into Tuscumbia, Alabama, cross the Tennessee River, and capture Florence, Tennessee.
30 In North Carolina, the CSS Olustee runs the Federal blockade.
31 In Washington, DC, Nevada is admitted to the Union.
31 In North Carolina, seven Federal vessels capture the town of Plymouth.

November
3 In Pulaski, Tennessee, the IV Corps (USA) arrives.
6 In Chicago, Illinois, Colonel Benjamin Sweet and his officers arrest nearly 100 men as Confederate sympathizers and agents.
8 Election Day in the North; Lincoln is reelected, beating McClellan, with Andrew Johnson as vice president.
9 In Kingston, Georgia, General Sherman issues orders to prepare for his 'March to the Sea'.
10 After burning all property that might be of use to the Confederates, Sherman's army leaves Kingston for Atlanta.
13 General Jubal A. Early (CSA) moves his army back to New Market and sends a portion of his troops to reinforce Lee at Richmond and Petersburg.
15 Sherman's men complete their destruction of stores in Atlanta.
16 Sherman and his army leave Atlanta along two paths, beginning his famed 'March to the Sea'.
19 With Norfolk, Virginia and Fernandina and Pensacola, Florida all in Federal hands, Lincoln lifts the blockade at those ports.
21 General John Bell Hood (CSA) moves the Army of Tennessee north out of Florence, Alabama.
22 The Georgia legislature calls for more troops to stop Sherman, then flee the capital as General Slocum's men occupy the city.
25 Confederate agents set fire to ten hotels in New York City and Barnum's Museum.
26 Sherman's army skirmishes with Confederate troops at Sanderson, Georgia.
27 The flagship of General Benjamin Butler (USA), the Greyhound, is blown up on the James River, apparently by Southern saboteurs.
28 General Rosser (CSA) leads his cavalry on a raid into Maryland before retreating up-Valley into Virginia.
29 Federal troops led by Colonel Chivington commit the Sand Hill Massacre at Sand Creek, Colorado, killing over 150 Cheyenne, mostly women and children.
30 In Tennessee, the Battle of Franklin, with 2326 Union casualties, and 6252 Confederate casualties.

December
3 Sherman's four corps continue their march to the sea.
5 General JB Hood (CSA) sends Nathan Bedford Forrest with his cavalry and a division of infantry to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to oppose Federal troops under General Rosseau.
7 At Murfreesboro, General Rosseau (USA) orders Robert Milroy to make a reconnaissance against General Forrest; Forrest is defeated, losing 200 men as prisoners and 14 guns.
8 Sherman's army nears Savannah.
10 Sherman's army besieges Savannah.
15 Union troops under Generals Steadman and Thomas hit Hood's men hard; the Confederate cavalry is away at Murfreesboro. The Battle of Nashville.
16 His left turned and his center collapsing, General Hood watches his army retreat; the Army of the Tennessee is effectively destroyed.
17 General Sherman issues a demand to the commander of Savannah to surrender.
18 In Washington, Lincoln issues a call for 300,000 more Union troops.
19 At Savannah, General Hardee declines Sherman's surrender.
20 With Sherman's armies surrounding the city, General Hardee, CSA, moves his troops northward toward South Carolina.
21 General WT Sherman's troops occupies Savannah and he sends a message to President Lincoln: "I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah".
23 Admiral Porter's fleet arrives off Fort Fisher at Wilmington, North Carolina.
24 Admiral Porter's fleet begins its bombardment of Fort Fisher..
25 On Christmas Day, troops commanded by General Butler (USA) advance to within 75 yards of Fort Fisher, but are halted by heavy fire from the fort..
26 President Lincoln congratulates General Sherman on his successful March to the Sea..
30 In a cabinet meeting, President Lincoln finally acquiesces to the removal of General Butler.