Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment
On January 29th, 1862 the 40th Indiana had moved to Lebanon under command of General Thomas J. Wood. The 20th and 21st Brigades had moved forward; the 20th Brigade was building a corduroy road starting at Danville, 20 mile east of Lebanon. The 40th Indiana, with the 21st Brigade, remained at Lebanon.
General War Order #1
A previous post discussed President Lincoln's frustration with the lack of movement of the Union armies. On January 27th, an exasperated Lincoln issued General War Order #1, ordering an advance of all Union armies on February 22nd. This order was mainly directed at General McClellan as General-in-Chief of all the armies. Its intent was not just to get the armies moving, but to discover McClellan's plans for the eastern army. McLellan ignored the order, but eventually presented his plan of attack; to move the army by water to southeast Virginia, and move toward Richmond from that direction.
Moving into Tennessee
In the West, General Halleck had reconsidered his objection to moving from Paducah into Tennessee. He had ordered General Grant, in cooperation with Union gunboats, to move down the Tennessee River and capture Fort Henry, a hastily reinforced Confederate fort just south of the Kentucky/Tennessee border. This location is now on the eastern shore of Kentucky Lake, in the Land Between the Lakes.
Soon would begin the first major battles in the West.
More Information:
- The President’s General War Order Number 1
- The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1, Fort Sumter to Perryville, Shelby Foote, pp.181-183 discusses Halleck's decision to move into Tennessee.
NEXT POST: FEBRUARY 2ND
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