From the American Battlefield Trust July 2022 calendar.
JULY 1, 1862
** Battle of Malvern Hill, Virginia
JULY 1, 1863
** Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, begins
JULY 3, 1863
** Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, concludes with Pickett's Charge.
JULY 4, 1863
** Confederates surrender Vicksburg, Mississippi.
JULY 7, 1865
** Conspirators in the assassination of Lincoln executed.
JULY 9, 1863
** Surrender of Port Hudson, Louisiana.
JULY 9, 1864
Battle of Monocacy, Maryland.
--Old Secesh
Francis E. Warren was enrolled on September 11, 1862, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and mustered in on September 19 for the term of nine months as a private in Captain Plunkett's company of the 49th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Young Warren was promoted to corporal sometime in April or May 1863.
The 49th was drilled at Pittsfield and Worcester then went to New York on provost duty before going to New Orleans and being made a part of the 19th Army Corps. The regiment took part in the Battle of Plains Store on May 21, 1863, which ended up sealing the Confederates into their defenses at Port Hudson, Louisiana.
They then were involved in the whole siege of Port Hudson from investment to surrender, including the attacks on it.
Their terms of service over, Warren and his company were mustered out and honorably discharged at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1863, after a year of intensive military service.
Another source says that after Port Hudson that Warren served out the remainder of the war as a noncommissioned officer an received his discharge from the Union Army in 1865.Several sources say that after the war, he participated as a captain in the Massachusetts militia.
--Old Secesh
According to one account, Francis Warren received a serious scalp wound in the attack and initially was mistaken for dead, however, an alert doctor noticed he was alive and pulled him from the mass burial trench before it was covered.
Another account says that after his entire platoon was destroyed by Confederate bombardment, he was wounded but still managed to disable the enemy artillery.
Another account says that he was knocked down when the fascine he was carrying was struck by an artillery shall and he lay unconscious for several hours.
This same last account says that later, Congress recognized the valor of the volunteers and awarded them Medals of Honor.
The date of issue for Francis Warren's Medal of Honor was September 30, 1893. At the time, he was also serving his first term as U.S. Senator from Wyoming.
It's citation reads:
Volunteered in response to a call, and took part in a movement that was made upon the enemy's works under a heavy fire therefrom in advance of the general assault.
I just have to wonder how much his service as Wyoming territorial governor and first U.S. governor and being in the U.S. Senate had to do with it.
--Old Secesh
By 1863, the Confederacy only controlled the part of the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Port Hudson, Louisiana. In cooperation with General Grant who was going against Vicksburg, Union Major General Nathaniel P. Banks' army moved against the Port Hudson.
Like Vicksburg, Port Hudson was located on high bluffs that gave the Confederates command of the river.
On May 11, 1863, Banks found that Confederates from Port Hudson had been sent to reinforce Vicksburg and decided the time was right to attack the town. By May 21st, Banks and his 30,000 troops surrounded Port Hudson, outnumbering the Confederates four to one.
Francis E. Warren's 49th Massachusetts was with Banks at this time. Banks, however, delayed attacking until May 27 giving the Confederates under Major Gen. Franklin Gardner time to prepare his defenses. A series of uncoordinated and unsuccessful attacks took place on May 27. This is where Warren was wounded.
The 49th Massachusetts was called to furnish a few men from each company to perform the dangerous mission of preceding the main force and putting down fascines (bundles of sticks, twigs and other items) to fill in a ditch in front of the Confederate fortifications so that infantry might pass over it.
Corporal Warren was one of those volunteers. The colonel and every officer in this what was to become known as the "Forlorn Hope" was killed and three-fourths of the men killed or wounded. One of the wounded was Francis E. Warren.
--Old Secesh
From the American Battlefield Trust July 2021 Calendar.
JULY 1, 1862
Battle of Malvern Hill, Virginia
JULY 1 1863
Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, begins
JULY 3, 1863
Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania concludes with Pickett's Charge
JULY 4, 1863
Confederate surrender Vicksburg, Mississippi
JULY 7, 1865
Conspirators in the assassination of Lincoln executed
JULY 8, 1863
Surrender of Port Hudson, Louisiana
JULY 9, 1864
Battle of Monocacy, Maryland
--Old Secesh
There was a naval battle that occurred at Port Hudson which resulted in a Union disaster. Most of the casualties occurred on the USS Mississippi which was also lost in the battle.
Next, the Union Army surrounded the 7,000 Confederates with 40,000 men. A full-frontal assault was ordered, but only a small number of Union soldiers made it to the Confederate works and were easily killed, wounded or captured.
A second Union assault also failed and the Union troops began digging trenches and set up a siege of Port Hudson.
Things got worse for the Confederates who began running out of pretty much everything. They faced starvation and would eat mules, horses and even rats.
When word of Vicksburg's surrender reached Port Hudson, at first the Confederates wouldn't believe it. But finally on July 9, 1863, the 7,000 man garrison surrendered. However, they had inflicted more than 5,000 casualties on Union forces while losing just 500 of their own.
Most people think that when Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, 1863, that the Union had control of the Mississippi River, but that actually did not occur until July 9 with the surrender of Port Hudson.
--Old Secesh
.
During the Battle of Baton Rouge, the Confederates had a secret weapon they were going to use, the ironclad CSS Arkansas which was to assist in the attack. A force of 2,600 Confederates were to arrive by rail and between the ironclad and those troops they would crush the Union force at Baton Rouge.
The Confederate troops were battle-hardened soldiers from the Battle of Shiloh and they were facing 2,500 inexperienced Union troops. The battle began at Magnolia Cemetery and hand-to-hand fighting ensued. The Federals were driven back to the river where their gunboats fired down the city's streets at the advancing Confederates and slowed them down.
Word came that the CSS Arkansas had been scuttled and the Confederates then withdrew. (I have been writing about John Julius Guthrie, a Confederate naval officer in my Running the Blockade blog these last couple months. At one time, he was sent to help speed up the construction of the CSS Arkansas.)
The Confederates set up camp at Port Hudson, north of Baton Rouge.
While all this was going on, Union General Grant was moving against Vicksburg.
--Old Secesh
From the May 16, 2021, Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette "Phillips discusses Civil War battles" by Rachel Dickerson.
Dale Phillips spoke before the Bella Vista Civil War Round Table on May 6 about the battles of Port Hudson and Baton Rouge in 1863.
This latter battle is the one where Francis E. Warren of the 49th Massachusetts was seriously wounded, but recovered and eventually ended up in Wyoming after the war where he became a wealthy man and served as that state's first governor and long-time U.S. senator. I have written a lot about him. Just click on the Warren label below.
Union troops were moving up the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to Vicksburg and the Confederates realized they needed to stop them from occupying the Red River, which was a major supply route. Disease hit the Union forces, however, and they fell back to Baton Rouge.
--Old Secesh
