The Elbert County tribune., 1913-01-03
Uze
CIVIL WAR
FIFTY YEARS AGO
THIS WEEK
December 90, 1852.
THIS WEEK

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The Union army under General Sher-
man, making a concerted assault on
he Confederate defenses at Vicksburg,
Miss. was repulsed at all points. af-
ter q desperate conflict, with great
oss. The army was re-embarked on
he boats in the Yazoo, and the seige
II the place was raised, approach from
hat point having been found i'm
practicable because OF the strength and
disposition of the Confederate works.
| A Union expeditionary force under
General Carter destroyed the Union
md Watauga bridges on the Eas.
Tennessee and Virginia railroad. a
locomotive. tender and cars, and cap
fured 400 Confederate troops.
Gen. J. e. b. Stuart, famous Confed-
erate cavalry leader returned to Rich
mond sfter raid through the Union
lines in which his force visited Deco
guam, Dumfries. and Annandale, Va.
The raid had lasted seven days, dur
Ing which time numerous railroad
bridges were burned and large quanti-
| les of government stores seized.
The iron-clad steamer Monitor
sprung leak and foundered in a
heavy gale off Cape Hatteras. Four
officers and a number OF men were
drownd.
The battle OF Stone river. or Muir
ireesboro. Tenn, was fought between
the Union army under General Rose
Grams and the Confederates under Cen
eral Bragg. from early morning until
evening. 1t was technical victory
for the Union force, but the practical
effects we're of advantage to Bragg.
The battle of Parker's Cross Roads.
Tenn, was fought between Union
force under Col. G. L. Dunham and
General Forests Confederate cavalry.
The fight was In suspense when General
Sullivan came up with Union reinforce
ments and drove Forrest from the
held.
Emancipation was celebrated In var
lous portions Of the loyal states.
December 81, 1862.
The situation of the war at the close
OF 1852 was: Grant was preparing to
move his army down the river In a
second attenapt to capture Vicksburg.
General Banks was preparing base
of operations at New Orleans for a
movement against Port Hudson. which
with vicksburg, was the only import
ant hold left the Confederates on the
Mississippi river. The Confederate
Forrest had just completed one of his
brilliant raids against the railroads in
Tennessee. Sherman. recently de-
feated at Chickasaw Bayou. was held
in effectual check. Burnside was
making dazed efforts to recoup from
the disaster experienced at Freder-
icksburg, when his army was terribly
beaten by General Lee. The advant-
age of the year lay with the Union
forces in the west and along the sea-
board: New Orleans having fallen, and
all the Mississippi excepting the two
points mentioned, and foothold hav-
| ing been obtained in North Carolina,
where the Union forces occupied New
bern. But the Confederacy, through
the mastery strategy and ability Of
Lee and the fighting qualities of his
| chief lieutenant, Stonewall jackson,
was still triumphant in the east, Rich
mond being held secure from every at
tempt against It.
dent signed, an act admitting West
Virginia into the Union the state hav-
ing been partitioned from Virginia by
Northern sympathizers in the first year
| of the war.
January I, 1853.
The Emancipation Proclamation was
issued by President Lincoln. declaring
free the negro slaves "in certain states
and parts of states" Freed negroes
celebrated the day throughout the
south. notably in Norfolk, Va, and in
Beaufort, s. c., where they held par
ades and participated in feasts. In
Boston, at fremont temple. an all day
meeting of ratification and endorse
ment was held. with great enthusiasm.
Galveston. Tex, was captured by a
| Confederate force under General Mag
ruder. The town was guarded by a
The Harriet Lane, one of the gunboats,
The Harriet Lane one of the gunboats,
was captured. after most of her Off
GERS and crew had been killed, and the
Westfield got aground and was pre-
maturely blown up, with Commodore
Renshaw, the commander of the fleet,
and many of her complement.
Richard Yeadon, of Charleston. s..
c., issued the following proclamation:
President Davis having proclaimed
BENJAMIN F. Butler of Massachusetts
to be felon, and deserving of capital
punishment for the murder of William
B. Mumford, a citizen of the Confed-
crate States, at New Orleans. and hav-
ing ordered that the said Benjamin
F. Butler be considered or treated as
an outlaw and common enemy of man.