On This Day - 23rd March Prev / Next
Saturday March 23 1861
- Brig. Gen. Edwin Vose Sumner, USA, is assigned to the command of the Dept. of the Pacific.
- Fort Chadbourne, TX, is abandoned by the Union forces.
Sunday March 23 1862
- Affair at Smyrna, FL.
- Skirmish at Carthage, MO.
- Federal expedition from Point Pleasant, near New Madrid, to Little River, MO, by Maj. Jonas Rowalt, 7th IL Cavalry.
- The Federal Siege of Fort Macon, near Beaufort, NC, by Brig. Gen. John Grubb Parke's, USA, Union soldiers under Maj. Gen. Ambrose Everett Burnside, USA. (Mar 23-Apr 26)
- The Battle of Kernstown, VA, about 3 miles south of Winchester,VA, officially begins Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign, which results in a Confederate withdrawal from the vicinity of Brig. Gen. James Shields, USA, men. This obscure battle has the effect of freezing Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell, USA, in Washington, and Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, USA, at Harper's Ferry, WV, not permitting them to reinforce Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign.
Monday March 23 1863
- Federal operations near Jacksonville, FL. (Mar 23-31)
- Attack on the Warrenton, MS, batteries, by the Albatross and the Hartford, below Vicksburg, MS.
- Skirmish at Winfield, NC, with the Confederate attack repulsed.
- Skirmish near Thompson's Station, TN, with Union cavalry.
- Skirmish on the Little River Turnpike, near Chantilly, VA, as Capt. John Mosby, CSA, routs the Federals, but is later caught off guard by charging Union cavalry while feeding their unbridled horses. Mosby orders a foot charge and scares off the Federals.
- The Confederate attack on Williamsburg, VA, is repulsed.
Wednesday March 23 1864
- The Camden (Arkansas) Expedition. (Mar 23-May 3)
- Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele's, USA, column advances from Little Rock, AR, toward the Red River and Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, USA.
- Skirmishes on the Benton, AR, road, the Camden (AR) Campaign. (Mar 23-24)
- The Army of the Potomac discontinues the 1st US Army Corps and assigns those troops to the 5th US Army Corps, VA.
- Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, USA, supersedes Maj. Gen. George Sykes, USA, in the command of the 5th US Army Corps, the Army of the Potomac, VA.
Thursday March 23 1865
- Skirmishes near Dannelly's Mills, AL, as Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson, and his Union Cavalry move toward Lieut. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA, and his Cavalry, the Mobile, AL, Campaign. Mar 23-24)
- Brig. Gen. Michael K. Lawler, USA, is assigned to the command of the District of Baton Rouge, LA.
- Federal scout from Donaldsonville to Bayou Goula, LA, where the Yankees capture a few Confederates hiding out in local plantation homes. (Mar 23-24)
- Skirmish at Cox's Bridge, Neuse River, NC, as Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, USA, concentrates his forces around Bentonville, NC, to square off against the last remaining Confederate forces in North Carolina under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, CSA.
- Col. Reuben F. Maury, 1st Oregon Cavalry, assumes the command of the District of Oregon.
- Brig. Gen. Benjamin Alvord, USA, relinquishes the command of the District of Oregon.
- President Abraham Lincoln departs from Washington, DC, with his wife and son, to confer with Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, USA, at City Point, VA, outside Petersburg, VA.
On This Day information kindly provided by Martin Cross, 2nd U.S. Artillery, Bty B.