May 28, 1943 - Friday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Argentia, Newfoundland

May 25th: At sea all day, 8 PM about 250 miles ESE of Newfoundland.

May 26th: At sea all day, 8 PM about 370 miles due east of Newfoundland.

May 27th: At sea all day, 8 PM about 430 miles ESE of Newfoundland.

May 28th: At sea until returning to port at 8 PM.  Fueling done in the evening.

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Attu was almost fully retaken by Army troops by the 28th.  As was typical, the remaining Japanese troops died in a final charge or committed suicide.  

The island of Kiska was still in Japanese hands, and the US forces in Alaska would now prepare for its recapture; the Japanese, in fact, had already begun to withdraw some troops from Kiska.  

The TRIDENT Conference in Washington, D.C. ended on May 25th.  Roosevelt and Churchill reaffirmed previous plans; defeat Germany first, continue the strategic bombing in Europe, and invade Europe to created a second front by May 1944.

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More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 342-344 . 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-48.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 120-137.
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, May, 1943
    
  
  

NEXT POST:  JUNE 1ST

May 28, 1863 - Thursday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Crittenden's Corps - Wood's Division - Wagner's Brigade 

As the Union army under General Grant has Vicksburg under siege, the only chance for the Confederacy to relieve the city is to defeat Grant's army.  There is great concern that Bragg's army, not under pressure from the Army of the Cumberland, will divert troops to Mississippi to attack Grant.  Even President Lincoln is prodding General Rosecrans:

-------------------------------------------    

WASHINGTON, May 28, 1863.

Maj. Gen. ROSECRANS,

Murfreesborough, Tenn.:

   I would not push you to any rashness, but I am very anxious that you do your utmost, short of rashness, to keep Bragg from getting off to help Johnston against Grant.

A. LINCOLN.

------------------------------------------   

MURFREESBOROUGH, TENN., May 28, 1863.

His Excellency ABRAHAM LINCOLN,

President of the United States:

   Dispatch received.  I will attend to it.

W. S. ROSECRANS,

 Major-General.

------------------------------------------  

The short response from Rosecrans does not indicate any coming action, and the Army of the Cumberland will stay put for now.  Grant is able to keep the siege of Vicksburg intact, despite attacks from Confederate General Joseph Johnston's army.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 362-370.
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 109-110.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 166-400. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.
  

NEXT POST:  JUNE 1ST

 

May 24, 1943 - Monday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Argentia, Newfoundland

May 21st: In port all day.

May 22nd: Out to sea starting at 8 AM.  Remained out all day,  At 8 PM, about 200 miles south of Newfoundland.

May 23rd: Returned to port at 10 AM and remained for the rest of the day.  Fueling in the afternoon.

May 24th: In port during the day and sailed at 7 PM.

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In the Aleutians, US forces advanced on Attu, and began to corner the Japanese in a small part of the island at Chicagof Harbor.  Soon after, Attu would be regained, and remain in US hands for the rest of the war.

MacArthur was making slow progress in New Guinea, while the Navy was preparing their next offensive in New Georgia, about half way up the Solomons chain.

---------------------------

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 341-342 . 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-48.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 120-137.
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, May, 1943
    
  
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 28TH 

 

May 24, 1863 - Sunday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Crittenden's Corps - Wood's Division - Wagner's Brigade 

Again little news from the Army of the Cumberland.

Union attacks on Vicksburg fail with significant casualties.  It becomes clear that Vicksburg cannot be taken in an attack, and the Union army will surround Vicksburg and place it under siege.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 350-362.
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. p. 109.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 166-400. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 28TH

 

 

 

May 20, 1943 - Thursday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Argentia, Newfoundland

May 17th: Daly enters port and is moored at noon.  Remains moored rest of day. Fueling done in the afternoon.

May 18th: At anchor in the morning, at sea by 1 PM.  At 8 PM, about 180 miles due south of Newfoundland.  Part of destroyer screen for USS Ranger (CV-4) on patrol.

May 19th: At sea for all 24 hours.

May 20th: Returned to port at 3 PM.  Moored rest of day.  Fueling in the afternoon.

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Daly is based for now at the Naval Base at Argentia, Newfoundland.

---------------------------

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 340-341 . 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-48.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 120-132.
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, May, 1943
    
  
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 24TH 

 

 

May 20, 1863 - Wednesday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Crittenden's Corps - Wood's Division - Wagner's Brigade 

Still little news from the Army of the Cumberland.

In Mississippi, Grant's army continues to push the Confederates, and by the 18th, has moved them back into Vicksburg, and has the city under siege.

It has been decided that Clement Vallandigham, recently convicted of treason, will be removed to the Confederacy.  This will happen within a week.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 334-350.
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 108-109.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 166-375. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 24TH

 

 

May 16, 1943 - Sunday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Brooklyn Navy Yard, NY 

May 13th: In port all day.

May 14th: Left port at 1 PM.  At 8 PM, at sea near the tip of Long Island.

May 15th: At sea, at 8 PM in the North Atlantic about 200 miles due south of Halifax, NS.

May 16th: At sea, at 8 PM in the North Atlantic about 150 miles south of Newfoundland.

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Daly has left Brooklyn and is headed for the Naval Base at Argentia, Newfoundland.

In the Aleutians, US forces continued to advance on Attu, and had cornered the Japanese forces into a small part of the island at Chicagof harbor.  More fighting lay ahead.

In the Solomons, the Navy is shelling airfields in New Georgia, in preparation for a coming invasion.

On the 13th, the remaining Axis forces in Africa surrendered to the Allies in Tunisia.  This cleared the way for the start of the Allied campaign against Italy.

---------------------------

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 339-340. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-48.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 120-132.
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, May, 1943
    
  
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 20TH

May 16, 1863 - Saturday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Crittenden's Corps - Wood's Division - Wagner's Brigade 

These times are still mostly quiet for the Army of the Cumberland.  There is some fear of a Confederate cavalry invasion of Kentucky, but reliable reports are sparse.  

The main news of this time comes from Mississippi, where Grant's army has captured Jackson, and defeated a Confederate army under General Pemberton at Champion's Hill.  Pemberton's army is forced back toward Vicksburg, and is in danger of being trapped in the city.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 327-334.
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. p. 108.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 166-375. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 20TH

 

 

May 12, 1943 - Wednesday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Brooklyn Navy Yard, NY 

May 9th: In port all day.  Supplies and munitions coming onboard.  Several men absent over leave.

May 10th: In port all day.  Supplies and munitions coming onboard.

May 11th: In port all day.  Fuel and munitions received. 

May 12th: In port all day.  Fuel and munitions received.  Several men received punishment for being absent over leave, mostly warnings.

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Navy forces in Alaska land troops on Attu Island.  On the 12th, attacks began on the two separate Japanese forces remaining on the island.

---------------------------

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 337-338. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-45.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 120-132.
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, May, 1943
    
  
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 16TH 

 

May 12, 1863 - Tuesday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Crittenden's Corps - Wood's Division - Wagner's Brigade 

Clement Vallandigham, having been sentenced for treason (see previous entry), presents a writ of habeas corpus but it is denied by the US Circuit Court.

In the east, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson passes away from complications due to wounds accidentally inflicted on him by his own army in the latest battle.  Jackson had rightly become a renowned fighter for the South, and his death is a serious setback for Lee's Confederate Army.

Grant's bold maneuver to move south of Vicksburg appears to be paying off, as he continues to approach the land side of the city.

A Union cavalry attack into Georgia, intended to break up the railroad from Atlanta, has failed, with the capture of the entire force.  Rosecrans had approved this and hopes that, although having failed, at least it will draw some Confederate troops to rear areas to guard the railroads.

General Crittenden receives orders to push further out on the army's left flank, to observe any movements there.  General Wood has been in command at Nashville, but is returning as a division commander to the 21st corps under Crittenden.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 319-327.
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 107-108.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 166-175. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 16TH

 

May 8, 1943 - Saturday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Atlantic Ocean

May 5th: At 8 AM, off the new Jersey coast east of Atlantic City, moored later in the day at Brooklyn Navy Yard.

May 6th: In port all day.  Ten gallons of ice cream received for use in general mess hall.

May 7th: In port all day.  Other food stores received.

May 8th: In port all day.  Torpedoes received onboard.

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Navy forces in Alaska continue toward Attu Island, but face slow going due to high winds and seas,

---------------------------

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 336-337. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-41.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 120-132.
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, May, 1943
    
  
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 12TH 

 

May 8, 1863 - Friday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Crittenden's Corps - Wood's Division - Wagner's Brigade 

The biggest news of this time comes not from the front, but from Ohio.  

-------------------------------------------    

CINCINNATI, OHIO, May 7, 1863,

Maj. Gen. H, W. HALLECK, General-in-Chief:

    On Tuesday morning last I caused the arrest of the Hon. C. L. Vallandigham.  He is now in this city, undergoing trial before a military commission for uttering sedition.  Some trouble was caused in Dayton on account of his arrest, but all is now quiet.  I hope to maintain perfect order in other portions of this department.  There is necessarily much excitement among his friends.  We are all hoping to hear of the glorious and final success of General Hooker.

A. E. BURNSIDE.

------------------------------------------  

 Clement Vallandigham was known as a leader of the Copperhead  movement in the North.  He had been a representative in Congress from Ohio until early 1863, and had opposed the war and all its measures; he accused Lincoln of despotism  He then called for an armistice and de-mobilization of the armies of both sides.

Defeated for Congress in the election of 1862, he gave what Burnside viewed as an incendiary speech on May 1st, leading to his arrest.  Lincoln had previously suspended the right of habeas corpus for disloyal speech.  See General Order Number 38.  His arrest by Burnside was approved at the time by Secretary of War Stanton; however, it remains controversial to this day.  Vallandigham was convicted of treason after a two-day military trial, and initially sentenced to confinement for the duration of the war.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 313-319.
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 106-107.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 166-175. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 12TH

 

 

May 4, 1943 - Tuesday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Atlantic Ocean

May 1st: At sea 8 AM to 3 PM.

May 2nd: Left Guantanamo Bay at 8 PM.  Returning to North Atlantic.

May 3rd: Sailing northward, at 8 PM, 26 deg N, 74 deg W, northeast of the Bahamas.

May 4th: Sailing northeast, at 8 PM, 34 deg N, 74 deg W, off North Carolina coast.

---------------------------

 A Navy assault force left Cold Bay, AK to land troops on Attu Island, which was taken by the Japanese during the Midway operation.  Cold and high seas would make slow going, and the force would take a week to reach Attu at the end of the Aleutians chain.

---------------------------

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 335-336. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-41.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 120-127.
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, May, 1943
    
  
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 8TH

May 4, 1863 - Monday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Crittenden's Corps - Wood's Division - Wagner's Brigade 

No news in the Army of the Cumberland for the last 4 days.

In the east, the Battle of Chancellorsville is fought during this time.  General Stonewall Jackson gains fame in this battle by going around behind his own army and crashing unexpected into the Union right.  Union forces are pushed back and remain stopped.  Casualties are heavy: Union, 1606 killed, 9762 injured, and 5919 missing; Confederate, 1665 killed, 9081 wounded, and 2018 missing.  This is another huge and bloody battle that again hardly changes the situation in the east.

Grant has crossed from Louisiana into Mississippi, and the way appears to be clear to close in on Vicksburg from the south.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 300-313.
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 105-106.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 166-175. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 8TH

 

 

April 30, 1943 - Friday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

April 27th: At sea overnight and returned to port at 4 PM.  Groups still ashore for training.

April 28th: Left port at 9 AM, returning 4 PM.

April 29th: Sailing 8 AM to 2 PM.  Party ashore for radar training.

April 30th: Sailing 8 AM to 4 PM.  Destroyer Squadron commander onboard for observation of ship at General Quarters.

---------------------------

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 333-335. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-39.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 120-127.
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, April, 1943
    
  
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 4TH

April 30, 1863 - Thursday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Crittenden's Corps - Wood's Division - Wagner's Brigade 

Again little to report regarding movement of armies.  Rosecrans continues to watch his left around Readyville, TN, while repeating his call for more cavalry and artillery horses.  He receives a rebuke from General Halleck on this subject.

General Burnside is trying to organize the forces in Kentucky and is on the lookout for invading troops and cavalry raiders.

In the east, the Army of the Potomac, now under General Hooker, is advancing on Chancellorsville, VA, where the Confederate army under General Lee is positioned.

On the Mississippi, General Grant has broken from his supply line and moved south of Vicksburg, MS, crossing the river about 30 miles below the town, intending to move north and attack Vicksburg from the land side.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 281-.300.
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 104-105.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 166-175. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 4TH