On This Day - 8th March Prev / Next
Friday March 8 1861
- No events on this date.
Saturday March 8 1862
- James Edwin Slaughter, CSA, is appointed Brig. Gen.
- Col. Thomas M. Jones, 27th Miss. Infantry, is assigned to the command at Pensacola, FL.
- Brig. Gen. William T. Sherman's, USA, division embarks at Paducah, KY, for the Tennessee River.
- Operations about Rolla, MO, with MO Cavalry and Infantry. (Mar 8-9)
- Chattanooga, TN, is occupied by the Confederates, under Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd, CSA.
- Skirmish near Nashville, TN, with Capt. John Hunt Morgan, CSA.
- By the direction of Confederate Secretary Judah Benjamin, the Honorable William G. Brownlow is escorted to the Union lines, East Tennessee.
- Col. James Dada Morgan's, USA, operations near Nashville, TN.
- Naval engagement in Hampton Roads, VA, and the destruction of the US frigate Congress and the sloop of war Cumberland, with severe damage to the warship, USS Minnesota, by the Confederate iron-clad Virginia, (formerly the Merrimac) (Mar 8-9)
- The occupation of Leesburg, VA, by the Union forces.
Sunday March 8 1863
- Confederate expedition against New Berne, NC, with skirmishes (Mar 13-14) at Deep Gully, and (Mar 14), Confederate attack on Fort Anderson, led by Maj. Gen. Daniel Henry (DH) Hill, CSA. (Mar 8-16)
- The capture of Brig. Gen. George Crook's, USA, forage train near Carthage, TN.
- Federal expedition from Collierville, TN. (Mar 8-12)
- Federal expedition from Franklin to Columbia, TN, including skirmishes at Thompson's Station (Mar 9) and at Rutherford Creek (Mar 10 & 11). (Mar 8-12)
- Federal expedition from La Grange, and skirmishes (Mar 9 & 10) near Covington, TN, with Col. Benjamin H. Grierson, USA, Cavalry. (Mar 8-12)
- Skirmish on the Harpeth River, near Triune, TN.
Tuesday March 8 1864
- Affairs at Courtland and Moulton, AL, where Brig. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, USA, captures the two towns along with large quantities of stores, ammunition, salt, and other provisions.
- Skirmish near Baton Rouge, LA.
- Skirmish at Cypress Creek, LA.
- Maj. Gen. Simon B. Buckner, CSA, is temporarily in command of the Dept. of East Tennessee.
- President Abraham Lincoln meets his new Lieut. General, Ulysses Simpson Grant for the first time, at Washington, DC.
Wednesday March 8 1865
- Skirmish with Indians at Poison Creek, the Idaho Territory.
- Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, CSA, assumes the command of the Missouri Division of Infantry.
- Col. Edwin C. Catherwood, 13th US Missouri Cavalry, assumes the command of the District of Rolla, MO.
- The Battle of Kinston, or Wise's Forks, NC, as Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox, USA, repels Gen. Braxton Bragg, CSA, who contested Cox's latest move, with fresh troops received from the Confederate Army of Tennessee, but to no avail. (Mar 8-10)
- Skirmish at Love's or Blue's Bridge, SC.
- Skirmish in Jackson County, TN.
- The Headquarters of the Dept. of Mississippi is transferred from Vicksburg, MS, to Memphis, TN.
- Skirmish at Duguidsville, VA, with Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, USA, who is moving toward Petersburg, VA, from the Shenandoah Valley.
On This Day information kindly provided by Martin Cross, 2nd U.S. Artillery, Bty B.