August 28, 1943 - Saturday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Pacific Ocean - Aleutian Islands, Alaska

August 25th: At sea all day.  At noon, just southeast of Adak.  Mid 50s, breezy in the morning.

August 26th:  At sea all day.  At noon, further east that the  previous day, southeast of Amlia Island.   Low 50s, breezy in the evening.

August 27th: At sea all day.  At noon,south of Tanaga Island.  Strong breeze in the evening.

August 28th: At sea all day,  At noon, south of Amlia Island. Mid 50s, light breezes.

These appear to be routine patrols around the area between Adak, Attu, and Kiska.

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

The invasion of Italy has not begun but is in preparation.  Action continues in other areas as noted previously. 

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 377-379. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-88.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 233-239.  
• Events of August, 1943 
  
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, August, 1943
   

NEXT POST:  SEPTEMBER 1ST

 

 

August 28, 1863 - Friday - 160 years ago today

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

Wilder and Wagner had kept their troops in position and continue shelling the town, and dispatches between Union commanders confirmed that Bragg's attention was to the north for now, allowing Rosecrans a chance to move the bulk of the army around the Confederate left.  Rosecrans had most of his three corps at the Tennessee River and busy construction means to cross.  Bragg was also getting reinforcements from several areas of the Confederacy, as with recent setbacks at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, it was thought too dangerous to risk another loss at Chattanooga.

The grapevine was busy with news that Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor had been captured, but these reports were premature, despite heavy shelling from Union batteries.  Burnside, meanwhile, had begun and was continuing an advance on Knoxville, currently defended by Confederate general Simon Bolivar Buckner and his troops.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXX, Chapter XLII, Part III, Correspondence, pp. 159-210.
  
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 124-125.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 663-688. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-39.
• The Chickamauga Campaign, Vol 1: A Mad Irregular Battle, David A. Powell, pp. 1-74.
  
• Events: 1863 - July to September 

NEXT POST:  SEPTEMBER 1ST    

 

 

 

 

August 24, 1943 - Tuesday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Pacific Ocean - Aleutian Islands, Alaska

August 21st: At sea until 7 PM.  At noon, north of Tanaga Island, Aleutians.  Fueling in late evening.

August 22nd:  In port all day.  Temperature low 50s, light breezes.

August 23rd: In port all day.  Temperature low 50s, moderate breezes.

August 24th: At sea 7 AM for the rest of the day.  At noon, southeast of Amchitka Island, Aleutians.

These appear to be routine patrols around the area between Adak, Attu, and Kiska.

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

In New Guinea, US air forces attacked Japanese bases at Wewak, on the north shore of New Guinea,  They achieved complete surprise as the Japanese did not believe Wewak was in range.  The Japanese lost about 170 airplanes; US losses were only 10 planes.

Forces of the Soviet Union continued their westward advance as the Battle of the Dnieper began.

Preparations had begun for occupying the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, which would become the Central Pacific campaign.  The stretching of Navy forces in the Pacific since Pearl Harbor (named by Admiral Nimitz "Operation Shoestring") was slowly coming to an end.   

Daly had escorted the Essex-class Lexington to the Pacific; in addition, Essex, Essex-class Yorktown, and three more light carriers were added nearly at the same time.  The production capacity of the homeland had finally begun to tell, and would support further advances with increasingly large numbers of ships, airplanes, and munitions.

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 376-377. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-88.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 233-239.  
• Events of August, 1943 
  
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, August, 1943
   

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 28TH

August 24, 1863 - Monday - 160 years ago today

 

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

By the 22nd, Wilder's brigade had arrived across the Tennessee River north of Chattanooga.  His artillery shelled the city and sank two steamboats at the city dock.  Wilder's attack seems to have been unexpected and scattered the citizens.  Wagner followed close behind and took up an elevated position nearby with a view of the city.  Wagner reported much activity in the city on the 22nd and 23rd in response to Wilder's continued shelling.  Hazen's brigade came to the area also and simulated preparation for a full assault (creating campfires, making sounds of sawing and nailing, marching troops through clearings, etc.) across the river from the north.  

These attacks and demonstrations were successful in convincing Bragg and the Confederate army to expect the main attack from the north and northeast.  Bragg began to draw in his Confederate forces from both the east and the west toward the city.  This was, of course, Rosecrans' plan.  He now had the bulk of the army on the west side of the Tennessee between Jasper, TN and Stevenson, AL, ready to cross.

The map below shows the area near downtown Chattanooga.  Wilder's brigade is directly north across the river from downtown (approximately along current TN 29).  Wagner's brigade, with the 40th Indiana, is to the east, on the higher elevation of Moccasin Bend, observing Confederate positions and movements in the city.

 

 

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXX, Chapter XLII, Part III, Correspondence, pp. 97-159.
  
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. p. 124.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 663-688. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-39.
• The Chickamauga Campaign, Vol 1: A Mad Irregular Battle, David A. Powell, pp. 1-74.
  
• Events: 1863 - July to September 

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 28TH

 

 

August 20, 1943 - Friday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Pacific Ocean - Aleutian Islands, Alaska

August 17th: At sea all day.  Temperatures in low 50s, light breezes.  At noon, 70 mile north of Adak.

August 18th:  At sea all day.  Temperatures in low 50s, moderate breezes.  At noon, near north coast of Adak Island.

August 19th: At sea all day.  Temperatures in low 50s, moderate breezes in morning, calm after noon.  At noon, near north coast of Tanaga Island.

August 20th: At sea all day.  Temperatures in low 50s, moderate breezes.  At noon, near north coast of Tanaga Island.

As the Kiska landings continued unopposed, it finally became clear that the Japanese were gone and the Aleutians had fully returned to US control.  There is little action in this area for the remainder of the war, as war in the south and central Pacific drew all the available resources.  There was still some concern for the Aleutians; Adak Island was developed as a base that lasted long into the cold war; and the Daly would continue, with other ships, to patrol the area for some time.

Elsewhere, the Allied Invasion of Sicily was completed.  The Axis managed to get about 75000 troops off the island before it was lost.  There would be a short pause before the invasion of mainland Italy commenced.

Allied bombing of Germany had begun to concentrate on key military production.  Between the 17th and the 20th, the ball bearing factory at Schweinfurt and the Peenemunde rocket research and production facility were bombed.

Intense fighting in the Solomons and in New Guinea continued.  Soviet forces continued forward toward Kharkov (now Kharkiv, Ukraine) after having pushed the German army out of Belgorod.  Roosevelt, Churchill, and Mackenzie-King (PM of Canada) met in Quebec, approving a secret agreement regarding the development and use of the atomic bomb.

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 374-376. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-63.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 233-239.  
• Events of August, 1943 
  
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, August, 1943
   

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 24TH

 

August 20, 1863 - Thursday - 160 years ago today

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

Colonel Wilder's brigade had been detached from the 14th Army Corps and charged with making the feint toward Chattanooga from the north.  Wagner's brigade (with the 40th Indiana) would be in support, and would move independently of the rest of Wood's division.

On the 17th, Wagner reports his corps following the corps of Colonel Wilder.  They are east of Tracy City, and making for an area near Dunlap, TN in the Sequatchie River valley.  From there they were planning to cross Walden's Ridge and move south through Soddy-Daisy, TN to the north bank of the Tennessee opposite downtown Chattanooga.

By the 20th, this movement was nearly done, as the next morning Wilder would appear on the north riverbank and begin shelling the town.  Wagner's brigade followed closely. Another brigade from Crittenden's army, under Colonel Hazen, joined them there.  The mission of these three brigades would be to simulate preparations for an attack on Chattanooga by the Union army from the north, holding Confederate attention there to distract from the main advance of the army. 

The main army move had also begun; the other two army corps had moved to the Tennessee River on a front between Jasper, TN and Stevenson, AL.  The intent was for the army to move toward an area south of Chattanooga, forcing Confederate forces out of the city and back south toward Atlanta.

The map below shows the area.  On the right of the map, Wagner's brigade is north across the river from downtown, directly south of Red Bank, TN.  The rest of the army is at the left of the map, along the west side of the river from Jasper south to Stevenson, AL, preparing to cross.

 

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXX, Chapter XLII, Part III, Correspondence, pp. 53-97.
  
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. p. 124.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 663-685. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-34.
• The Chickamauga Campaign, Vol 1: A Mad Irregular Battle, David A. Powell, pp. 1-69.
  
• Events: 1863 - July to September 

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 24TH

 

 

 

 

August 16, 1943 - Monday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Pacific Ocean - Aleutian Islands, Alaska

August 13th: In port at Adak Harbor all day.  Temperature in the 50s, light winds.

August 14th: In port at Adak Harbor all day

August 15th: At sea at 7 AM.  At noon, just north of Kanaga Island, Aleutians.  Winds picking up in the afternoon.

August 16th: At sea all day.

The invasion of Kiska Island began on the 15th with landings and bombardments by Naval ships.  All troops were soon ashore and advancing; they advanced all day on the 16th without encountering enemy troops.  Adak, as previously noted, was already abandoned by the Japanese forces.

In the Solomons, also on August 15th, US forces invaded the island of Vella Lavella, which was to the northwest of the current Japanese positions on New Georgia.  This was the first notable instance of "island-hopping", as it later came to be known,

The Allied bombing of Italy was resumed with attacks on several cities.  Rome was declared an open city to protect it from destruction.  Mussolini had already been deposed in late July

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 373-374. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-63.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 212-233.  
• Events of August, 1943 
  
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, August, 1943
   

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 20TH

 

 

 

August 16, 1863 - Sunday - 160 years ago today

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

By the 15th, General Rosecrans has made his plans and sends the orders for the army's advance.  General Wood's division is ordered into the Sequatchie Valley, from the orders it appears that the corps will initially be somewhat south of Dunlap, TN. Wood's division (with 40th Indiana) will push an advance southeast to Walden's Ridge and then further on toward the Tennessee River opposite Chattanooga.  

Wood reports his division ready to move on the 15th, although still lacking somewhat in forage for feeding the animals.  There are no dispatches on the 16th but the move was likely in progress.

Rosecrans had developed a somewhat complicated plan; first to get a small force north of Chattanooga to give the appearance that the main attack would be from that direction, and if Bragg's Confederate army stayed in place as anticipated, to pass the city with most of his army through the ridges on its southwest, emerging south of the city.  This would leave the Confederates forced to abandon Chattanooga without a fight..

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXX, Chapter XLII, Part III, Correspondence, pp. 18-53.
  
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. p. 124.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 663-685. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-34.
• The Chickamauga Campaign, Vol 1: A Mad Irregular Battle, David A. Powell, pp. 1-67.
  
• Events: 1863 - July to September 

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 20TH

 

 

August 12, 1943 - Thursday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Pacific Ocean - Adak, Alaska

August 9th: At sea all day.  At noon, 1400 miles west of Seattle, heading for the Aleutians.

August 10th: At sea all day.  At noon, 470 miles SSW of Cold Bay, Alaska.

August 11th: At sea until 8 PM, arrived Adak Harbor, Alaska.  Fueling in evening.

August 12th: At anchor all day.

Daly had proceeded directly to Adak Harbor where the invasion force for Kiska Island was being assembled.  The US Navy was still unaware that the Japanese had abandoned the island and the invasion was proceeding apace.  Frequent bombardments of the island were still occurring.

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

General Patton for the second time in a week has slapped a soldier suffering from shell shock.  When this later comes to light it will result in his suspension.

Allied forces are nearly finished with the conquest of Sicily.  By August 17th the island will be in Allied hands.  

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 372-373. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-63.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 212-222.  
• Events of August, 1943 
  
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, August, 1943
   

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 16TH

August 12, 1863 - Wednesday - 160 years ago today

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

Discussion continues with Washington as to Rosecrans' plans for advances.  On the 9th, Rosecrans messages to Burnside in Kentucky that Crittenden's Corps will move to the Sequatchie River at Dunlap, TN.  Two days later, the corps seems to be headed toward Tracy City, TN.

A route has not yet been chosen for the army's approach to Chattanooga and Bragg's Army.  There are small advances near the Tennessee River and some activity on the railroads.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 601-612.
• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXX, Chapter XLII, Part III, Correspondence, pp. 1-18.
  
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. p. 124.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 663-685. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-33.
• The Chickamauga Campaign, Vol 1: A Mad Irregular Battle, David A. Powell, pp. 1-38.
  
• Events: 1863 - July to September 

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 16TH

 

 

 

August 8, 1943 - Sunday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Pacific Ocean

August 5th: In port until 4 PM and at sea for the rest of the day.

August 6th: At sea all day.  At 8 PM, about 500 miles west of Los Angeles.

August 7th: At sea all day.  At noon, about 500 miles west of San Francisco.

August 8th: At sea all day.  At noon, in North Pacific, headed for the Aleutians area, no longer in the carrier task force.

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

A destroyer battle near Kolombangara Island, near New Georgia, was a victory for the US Navy.  The battle, known as the Battle of Vella Gulf, cost the Japanese three destroyers and a significant army force that was being transported.  There was no damage to the six US destroyers involved.

As Daly headed toward the Aleutians, US Navy forces continued to bombard Kiska Island, believing that the Japanese forces were still on the island.

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 370-372. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-63.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 212-222.  
• Events of August, 1943 
  
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, August, 1943
   

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 12TH

 

August 8, 1863 - Saturday - 160 years ago today

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

Having been ordered forward by General Halleck, Rosecrans still does not move but sends a dispatch regarding the upcoming campaign.  He has not decided on the approach, having an option on either side of Chattanooga.  The army has also not established crossings of the Tennessee River sufficient to get the army across.

General Lee, discouraged after Gettysburg and in ill health, submits his resignation as commander of the Army of Virginia on the 8th.  Jefferson Davis, without a suitable replacement, declines and Lee continues on at the head of the army.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 592-601.
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 123-124.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 663-685. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.
• Events: 1863 - July to September 

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 12TH

 

 

August 4, 1943 - Wednesday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Pacific Ocean, San Diego

August 1st: At sea all day. 

August 2nd: At sea all day.  At noon, just west of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

August 3rd: At sea all day.  At noon, west of Cedros Island, Mexico.

August 4th: At sea until reaching the port of San Diego at 8 AM, moored the rest of the day.  Fueling in the afternoon.

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

The Allied Invasion of Sicily continued as Allied forces attack the defensive line that Italian and German troops have built around Mt. Etna.  The week-long Battle of Troina began on July 31st. 

In the Aleutians, US forces continue to bombard Kiska Island, including with a battleship force on August 2nd.  The Allies are building an invasion force to capture Kiska.

In the Solomons, fighting continued on New Georgia and nearby islands. PT boat PT-109, captained by future President John F. Kennedy, is rammed by a Japanese destroyer and sunk, and the crew seeks rescue for several days until being picked up on August 8th. 

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 368-370. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-63.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 198-208.  
• Events of August, 1943 
  
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, August, 1943
   

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 8TH

August 4, 1863 - Tuesday - 160 years ago today

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

The Army of the Cumberland has not yet moved.  Crittenden is in the area between Manchester and McMinnville.  On the 4th, orders are received from General Halleck in Washington for the army to advance immediately.  Rosecrans' response is to ask if he has any discretion in his movements.  Halleck responds that the order is peremptory and the move forward must begin now.  

There is very little activity in the west aside from continuing to pursue Morgan and the remainder of his cavalry forces.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 585-592.
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. p. 123.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 663-685. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 8TH

 

 

July 31, 1943 - Saturday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - Pacific Ocean

July 28th: At sea all day after 9 AM.  Transiting Panama Canal and proceeding into the Pacific.

July 29th: At sea all day.  At noon, about 120 miles WSW of San Jose, Costa Rica, heading northwest.

July 30th: At sea all day.  At noon, about 400 miles west of Managua, Nicaragua, heading northwest.

July 31st: At sea all day.  At noon, about 140 miles SSE of Acapulco, Mexico.  Destination: San Diego, California.

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

The Allied Invasion of Sicily continued as Allied forces attack the defensive line that Italian and German troops have built around Mt. Etna.  The week-long Battle of Troina began on the 31st.  Mussolini had been deposed and arrested a few days earlier.  President Roosevelt had a fireside chat and promises justice for Mussolini's war crimes.

The fire-bombing of Hamburg, which killed 30,000 people, was conducted on the 28th.  Many of the citizens of Hamburg died in basement shelters due to carbon monoxide poisoning.  A firestorm consumed the city, streets became so hot that no rescuers could enter the city for two days.

In the Aleutians, Japanese forces conduct a full evacuation of Kiska Island on July 28th.  US forces are completely unaware of the evacuation and continue to bombard the island over the next few days.  The Allies began to build an invasion force to capture Kiska.

In the Solomons, B-25 bombers sank two Japanese destroyers on the 28th.  Fighting continued on New Georgia and nearby islands.

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 366-368. 
• Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 22-63.
• Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 198-208.  
  
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, July, 1943
  
  
  
    

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 4TH

July 31, 1863 - Friday - 160 years ago today

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

Little activity at this time.  The army has occupied Stevenson, AL.  Morgan's raid into the North has almost ended.  

In the east, Mosby's Confederate Raiders are harassing the Union army while avoiding capture.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence,  pp. 564-585.
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. p. 123.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 663-685. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.

NEXT POST:  AUGUST 4TH