Gen. Junius Daniel-- Part 4: Action at Gettysburg

Junius Daniel was commissioned a brigadier general on September 1, 1862, making him one of the five men from Halifax County to attain that rank in the Confederate Army.  (I am unable to find out who the other four brigadier generals are from Halifax County, N.C.)

He spent the fall of 1862 with his brigade at Drewry's Bluff in Virginia and then served in North Carolina.  During this time, his unit saw very limited combat action.

Shortly after the Battle of Chancellorsville, his unit was transferred to Major General Robert E. Rodes' division of Richard S. Ewell's 2nd Corps, where he served with distinction during the Gettysburg Campaign  Daniel's largest brigade, trusted to carry the Corps Flag, consisted of the 32nd, 43rd, 45th and 53rd North Carolina along with the 2nd North Carolina Battalion.

On July 1, 1863, the first day of the battle, Daniel's brigade repeatedly attacked Union forces on McPherson's Ridge, eventually driving off  the Union brigade of Colonel Roy Stone.  As his first attack on that position failed, and his men began retreating, Daniel heroically galloped after his men, rallied them and  launched another assault.

Daniel's men suffered the  greatest loss of any brigade in the 2nd Corps on the first day at Gettysburg.

--Old Secesh

General Cornelius Attwood-- Part 4: The 25th Massachusetts

Attwood's 25th Massachusetts was in more than 25 battles and skirmishes.  Besides Roanoke Island, some of them were New Bern, N.C., Goldsboro, N.C., Drewry's Bluff, and Cold Harbor where Major Attwood was wounded and Petersburg.

Out if the 300 men mustering in for the assault at Cold Harbor, the regiment had 24 killed, including 6 officers and 142 wounded and 49 missing.

--Old Secesh

Confederate Congress Gives Thanks-- Part 2: Naval Officers

**  John T. Wood, actions in Chesapeake Bay

**  Ebenezer Farrand, Drewry's Bluff

**  Isaac N. Brown, CSS Arkansas

**  Raphael Semmes,  CSS Alabama

John Lancaster, Englishman for using his personal yacht to rescue Semmes and some of the crew of the CSS Alabama after its battle with the USS Kearsarge.

--Old Secesh

McHenry County Civil War Round Table Discussion Group Meets Saturday: The Peninsula Campaign

We will be meeting at Panera Bread on Northwest Highway, US-14, in Crystal Lake, Illinois, at 10 a.m..  This month's topic will be  the Peninsular Campaign and all are welcome to attend and share a word or two.

I will be concentrating on the USS  Monitor and Galena's role in the fighting.

See Ya There.  --Old Secesh

The 21st Georgia Infantry-- Part 3

The two Confederate regiments (21st Ga. and 21st NC) were recalled to Richmond when Lee wanted "two twenty-firsts be sent to me." They fought at the Second Battle of Drewry's Bluff, protecting the James River approach to the Confederate capital.

At the Battle of the Wilderness, Co. E of the 21st Georgia defended the horseshoe. After that, the regiment was at the Battle of Cold Harbor and Siege of Petersburg.

They then went on Early's Raid into Maryland and took part in the Battle of Monocacy and the attack on Fort Stevens, guarding Washington, D.C.. At this last battle, the 21st became one of the few Confederate units to get within sight of the Capitol building.

The 21st remained in the Shenandoah Valley after that until the rout at the Third Battle of Winchester where Lt. Col. Thomas Glover was killed on September 19, 1864.

--This Was What You'd Have to Call a Battle-Hardened Group. --Old Secesh