Volume 51 Number 2 Article 6

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Swiss American Historical Society Review

6-2015

Chronology of the Civil War Including Names of Killed, Wounded,

and Captured Swiss Officers

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(2015) "Chronology of the Civil War Including Names of Killed, Wounded, and Captured Swiss Officers," Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 51 : No. 2 , Article 6.

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28

The Swiss in the American Civil War

3. Chronology of the Civil War Including Names of

Killed, Wounded, and Captured Swiss Officers

1859

16 October

John E. Brown (1800-1859), radical anti-slavery leader, leads an uprising at Harper's Ferry, Virginia that is suppressed by the U.S. Marines led by Robert E. Lee. Brown is condemned to death by hanging and executed on 2 December 1859.

1860 6November

The lawyer and Republican politician, Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865),

from Illinois is elected President of the United States. He is determined to keep the Union intact at any cost. The Southern States view their power in the Union to be eroded and start the process of secession. 20 December

South Carolina is the first state to secede from the union. 1861

21 January-May

Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee leave the Union one after another and join with South Carolina in establishing the Confederate States of America (CSA). Jefferson Davis (1898-1889), a graduate of West Point and U.S. Minister of War from 1853 to 1857 is elected president. Montgomery, Alabama, is the first capital, but Richmond, Virginia, is made the capital on 21 May.

12 April

Start of the Civil War: Confederate General Pierre-Gustave T. Beauregard (1818-1893) orders troops to fire on Fort Sumter under the command of U.S. Major Robert Anderson (1805- 1871). The fort capitulates on 14 April.

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June 2015 SAHS Review 29

15 April

President Lincoln calls up 75,000 volunteers and appoints the seventy-five-year-old General Winfield Scott (1786- 1866), originator of the Anaconda Plan, as Supreme Commander of the Union Army.

May

General Robert E. Lee ( 1807- 1870) takes command of the Confederate troops in Virginia, the main theater of combat during the war.

21 July

First major battle in the war takes place at Bull Run (Manassas) in Virginia, southwest of Washington, D.C. The Confederate Generals Joseph Egglestone Johnston (1807- 1891) and Beauregard are victorious against the Union troops under General Irvin McDowell (1818-1885).

Confederate General Thomas Jonathan Jackson (1824-1863) and his brigade receive the nickname "Stonewall."

25 July

U.S. General George Brinton McClellan ( 1826-1885) becomes the commander of the Union Army of the Potomac and shortly thereafter becomes supreme commander of all Union troops.

JO August

Battle at Wilson's Creek, Missouri: Victory of the Confederate troops. Confederate General Benjamin McCulloch (1811-1862) defeats U.S. General Nathaniel Lyon ( 1818-1861) who is killed.

1862

The Union Navy seals off the coast of the Southern States. Union troops under General Ulysses S. Grant ( 1822-1885) successfully invade Tennessee.

19January

Battle at Logan's Crossroads (Mills Spring), Kentucky: Confederate General Felix K. Zollicoffer is killed.

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30 The Swiss in the American Civil War

12-16 February

General Grant besieges Fort Donelson, Tennessee. It is "unconditionally" surrendered by General Simon B. Buckner (1823- 1914).

9 March

Maritime encounter at Hampton Roads, Virginia, between the ironclad C.S.S. Virginia (the former frigate U.S.S. Merrimack) against the iron-hulled steamship U.S.S. Monitor with a revolving turret.

6/7 April

Battle at Shiloh (Pittsburgh Landing), Tennessee: The Union Army under the command of General Grant repels the Confederate troops under General Albert S. Johnston (1803-1862), who is killed.

U.S. Captain Adolphus Studer is wounded and Lieutenant Colonel Augustus Louis Chetlain is also seriously wounded.

26 April

U.S. Admiral David G. Farragut (1801-1870) occupies New Orleans. 4/5 May

Battle at Williamsburg, Virginia: U.S. General McClellan is victorious over General Joseph E. Johnston.

U.S. Second Lieutenant John Jacob Fritschy Jr. is killed and his father, Captain John Jacob Fritschy Sr., is wounded.

May

U.S. General Nathaniel P. Banks (1816-1894) leads the Union troops in Virginia. He occupies Winchester. He also leads Union troops in Louisiana from1862 to 1864.

30. May

U.S. General Halleck (1815-1872) occupies Corinth, Miss., and is the overall commander of the Union Army from July 1862 to March 1864. 31 May/ 1 June

Battle at Fair Oaks (Seven Pines) at the river Chickahominy River in Virginia and is a victory for U.S. General McClellan. Confederate Army under C.S. General Joseph E. Johnston retreats.

Confederate Sergeant Henry Wirz is injured by shell fragment. et al.: Chronology of the Civil War Including Names of Killed, Wounded, a

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June 2015 SAHS Review 31

8.June

Battle at Cross Keys (Union Church) in Virginia; Confederate General Richard Stoddert Ewell (1817- 1872) defeats U.S. General John Charles Fremont (1813-1880).

U.S. First Lieutenant Albert Jordan is killed. 9June

Battle at Port Republic in Virginia: General Jackson is victorious over U.S. General Fremont.

2 5 June-] July

Seven Days Battles in the Peninsular Campaign in Virginia: Attack of General McClellan on Richmond repelled by General Lee and Union forces retreat.

29-30 August

Second battle at river Bull Run (Manassas) in Virginia; General Lee defeats U.S. General John Pope (1822-1892).

12-15 September

Battle at Harper's Ferry in Virginia (after 1863 part of West Virginia): Confederate General Jackson defeats U.S. Colonel Dixon S. Miles ( 1804- 1862) who is killed.

U.S. Second Lieutenant Emil Joirin is captured. 17 September

Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) in Maryland. U.S. General McClellan faces General Lee. This is the most costly battle of the war with 3,654 soldiers killed on both sides. The battle ends in a draw, but the retreat of the Confederate troops signifies a turning point of the war in favor of the North.

22 September

President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. It declares all slaves in the "rebellious" territories to be free on I January 1863. Lincoln had proposed issuing it in July 1862, but Secretary of State William Henry Seward (1801-1872) advises delay until it could be proclaimed in connection with a military victory.

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8 October

Battle at Perryville in Kentucky: U.S. General Don Carlos Buell (1818 -1898) defeats General Braxton Bragg ( 1817-1876).

13 December

Battle at Fredericksburg, Virginia: General Lee defeats the Army of the Potomac under U.S. General Ambrose E. Burnside ( 1824- I 88 l ).

U.S. First Lieutenant Felix Hirt is killed in battle. 31 December

Battle at Stones River (Murfreesboro) in Tennessee begins: U.S. General William S. Rosecrans (1919- 1898) faces General Braxton Bragg.

U.S. Captain Jacob Leupp is seriously wounded. 1863

2 January

Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro) resumes with large casualties. 1-4 May

Battle at Chancellorsville ,Virginia. Victory of General Lee over the Army of the Potomac under the command of General Joseph Hooker (1814-1879).

Confederate General Stonewall Jackson is seriously wounded by friendly fire and dies on IO May, a serious loss for the Confederacy.

U.S. Captain Samuel Surbrug is captured. U.S. First Lieutenant John Spoerry is fined for cowardice in the face of the enemy.

June

The Confederate Army invades Pennsylvania and threatens the Union capital of Washington, D.C.

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1-3 July

Battle at Gettysburg: After heavy fighting the Army of the Potomac commanded by General George Meade ( 1815-1872) defeats the Confederate Army under General Lee and retreats.

Confederate General John D. lmboden's Mounted Brigade covers the retreat of the Confederate troops.

U.S. Captain Louis Muller is killed, U.S. Captains John Fellmann and John Spoerry are severely wounded and First Lieutenant Laubli is also wounded. U.S. Captain Emil Frey and his cousin U.S. Corporal Theodore Chatoney are captured, Frey is sent to Libby pnson 111 Richmond, Virginia, and Chatoney to Andersonville, Georgia.

4July

Besieged by General Grant since 18 May 1863, Confederate forces under General John C. Pemberton (1814-1881) at Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrender. Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas are cut off from the Confederacy.

U.S. Brevet Brigadier General Hermann Lieb is seriously wounded. 9July

U.S. Nathaniel P. Banks (1816- 1894) takes the port city Port Hudson in Louisiana, which has been besieged since 26 May, and defended by Confederate General Franklin Gardner ( 1823- 1873).

19/20 September

Battle at Chickamauga in Georgia: Confederate General Bragg defeats Generals George H. Thomas (1816-1870), "Rock of Chickamauga", and William S. Rosecrans. Both sides suffer 28 percent of their soldiers killed, injured, or missing.

U.S. Captain Casimir Muri becomes a prisoner of war in Richmond's Libby prison; U.S. Major General James Scott Negley is relieved of his command.

19 November

In the famous Gettysburg Address, delivered at the dedication of the military cemetery at Gettysburg, President Lincoln outlines the purpose and promise of the United States.

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23-25 November

Battle at Chattanooga, Tennessee: U.S. Generals Grant and Thomas defeat the Confederate Army under General Bragg.

U.S. Captain John Reis and John Buerki are severely injured at Missionary Ridge and Reis later dies from his wounds.

26November

Battle at Taylor's Ridge, Georgia: U.S. General Peter Josef Osterhaus (1823-1917) defeats Confederate General Patrick R. Cleburne (1828 -1864 ).

U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Francis Romer is wounded.

27 November-2 December

Campaign of Mine Run, Virginia: U.S. General Meade tries in vain to outmaneuver General Lee. He fails to attack and withdraws into winter quarters near Culpeper, Virginia. This ends the fighting in the Eastern Theater until the Wilderness Campaign in Virginia in May 1864.

U.S. Colonel Caspar Trepp is mortally wounded on 30 November. 1864

March

U.S. General Grant succeeds General Halleck as commander-in-chief of all Union troops and takes the command of the Army of the Potomac. 5-7 May

Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia. Despite their numerical superiority, Generals Grant and Meade are unable to rout General Lee and to outflank his army.

U.S. Colonel Joseph Anton Moesch and U.S. Captain John Spoerry are mortally wounded, U.S. Captain Rudolf Aschmann is severely wounded as is U.S. Captain Fred Guyer who also becomes a prisoner of war. U.S. Captain Charles Perret is wounded.

7-20May

Heavy fighting at Spotsylvania in Virginia. Grant is defeated and forced to retreat.

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3June

Battle at Cold Harbor, Virginia. General Lee resists the attack of the Union troops under General Grant. The losses on both sides are staggering: In the 20 minutes of the assault of the three Union corps

I 0,000 men are killed or wounded.

The campaign of Cold Harbor lasting from 31 May to 12 June causes the North to lose 50,000 men or 41 percent of the men General Grant's command and the South to loses 32,000 or 46 percent General Lee's army.

June 1864/April 1865

Siege of Petersburg, Virginia. 8June

Abraham Lincoln is re-nominated as a presidential candidate 27 June

Battle at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia: Confederate General Johnston defeats U.S. General William T. Sherman (1820-1891).

22 July

Battle of Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. General Sherman defeats the Confederate troops led by General John B. Hood ( 1831- 1879)

2 September

U.S. General Sherman occupies Atlanta, the capital of Georgia. 8 November

Abraham Lincoln is reelected as president of the United States. His inaugural address is conciliatory and reaffirms the permanence of the Union, "hoping for a lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

15/16 November

U.S. General Sherman leaves Atlanta on his "March to the Sea." His troops destroy a vast swath of territory though the state.

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30 November

Battle at Franklin, Tennessee: The U.S. troops led by General Thomas defeat those of Confederate General Hood.

21 December

Savannah, Georgia, is taken by Union troops. 1865

January/ April

U.S. General Grant's siege of Richmond and Petersburg continues. The two cities are besieged on three sides: U.S. General Sherman advances from the South through the Carolinas.

U.S. Captain Oberteufer is mortally wounded on 21 December at the siege of Petersburg near City Point.

17/18 February

Union forces conquer South Carolina's capital Columbia and port city Charleston. More than half of Columbia bums down.

30 March- ] April

Battle at Five Forks, Virginia: U.S. General Philip H. Sheridan (1831 -1888) faces Confederate General George Pickett (1825- 1875), known for "Pickett's Charge" at the battle of Gettysburg.

2/3 April

Petersburg, Virginia, besieged since 19 June 1864, falls on 2 April, Richmond the next day.

9 April

Appomatox Courthouse in Virginia: General Lee requests a cease-fire and surrenders his Army of Northern Virginia consisting of 26,000 men. The secession of the Confederate States has failed.

14 April

Washington, D.C., Ford's Theatre. Actor John Wilkes Booth (1839 -1865) shoots President Lincoln. Secretary of State William H. Seward

(1801-1872) is also severely injured by another attacker. et al.: Chronology of the Civil War Including Names of Killed, Wounded, a

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U.S. Brevet Major Adolphus Studer, in command of troops m Washington, D.C., directs the first pursuit of the assassins.

15 April

Abraham Lincoln dies from the gunshot wound. Vice President Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) becomes the Seventeenth president of the United States.

Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Lecomte participates in the Lincoln's funeral rites.

26 April

John Wilkes Booth is discovered and killed at Bowling Green, Virginia. At Bennet's House near Durham, North Carolina: Confederate General Johnston surrenders with 37,000 men to General Sherman.

27 April

The steamer Sultana with 2,300 people on board explodes on the Mississippi River north of Memphis, Tennessee, and 1,700 people perish, among them numerous former prisoners of war from the Andersonville prisoner of war camp.

5May

Burial of Abraham Lincoln in the Oak Ridge Cemetery of Springfield, lllinois

24May

Victory parade of Union troops in Washington, D.C. U.S. Major Emil Frey is participates in uniform.

JO November

Confederate Captain Henry Wirz is executed by hanging in the courtyard of the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.