January 15, 1945 - Monday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS St. Croix

The St. Croix had left on a shakedown cruise up and down the US West Coast that would end in San Diego.

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Further invasions in the Philippines were conducted.  The escort carrier Ommaney Bay was sunk by a kamikaze attack.  Several other ships were damaged by kamikaze attacks during this time.

Intense fighting continued in western Europe as the Allies counterattacked in the Battle of the Bulge.  In the east, Soviet forces continued across Poland.

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 601-611.
• The Liberation of the Philippines, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 1 136
  
• USS_Saint_Croix
• Events of January, 1945
  

 

NEXT POST: FEBRUARY 1ST

January 15, 1865 - Sunday - 160 years ago today

Status - 40th Indiana

Hood's defeated Confederate army was able to cross the Tennessee River after capturing the Union pontoon bridge, leaving the Union army unable to follow them.  Hood resigned from command of the army on the 13th, and the remainder continued back into Alabama and Mississippi.  

Thomas had decided to drop the pursuit of the Confederates and go into winter quarters.  At that point, most of the army was moved to other theaters, some to the east, and some south to the Gulf Coast.  The 40th Indiana, for now, remained in Tennessee.

John Baer - Home, Tippecanoe County, IN 

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Sherman having captured Savannah, now took this time to plan the march through South Carolina.  As the state was regarded as the birthplace of the rebellion, it could expect no quarter from Sherman's army.  Sherman would maintain a wide front, and feign an attack both on Augusta, GA, and Charleston; but in the end would focus on the state capital of Columbia.

Debate began over the final passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in the Senate.

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More Information:

• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 195-196. 
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1II, Red River to Appomattox, Shelby Foote, pp. 735-758
• Shrouds of Glory: From Atlanta to Nashville, Winston Groom, pp 224-292. 
• Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, p. 670-672.
• Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, pp. 722-734.
  
• Events: 1865   
  

 

NEXT POST: FEBRUARY 1ST

January 1, 1945 - Monday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS St. Croix

The St. Croix, now commissioned, was doing the various provisioning and ship preparations that were required for deploying to the South Pacific.  The ship had left (or would soon leave) on a shakedown cruise up and down the US West Coast, ending in San Diego.

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Fighting intensifies throughout the Philippines during December.  The US Navy suffers greatly from kamikaze attacks on its ships.

On December 18th, the US Third Fleet encounters a typhoon northeast of the Philippines.  Three destroyers are sunk and a number of other ships are damaged.  This typhoon was likely part of the inspiration for the central scene of the book (and later movie) The Caine Mutiny. 

The Battle of the Bulge began on December 16th as Allied troops were pushed back in Belgium and France.  German advances had been mostly blunted by the end of December, and General Eisenhower was planning his counter-offensive for the new year.

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 586-601.
• The Liberation of the Philippines, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 1 136
  
• USS_Saint_Croix
• Events of December, 1944
  

 

NEXT POST: JANUARY 15TH

January 1, 1865 - Sunday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - Home, Tippecanoe County, IN

John Baer had been home for three weeks or so by the end of the year, and was no doubt at the Sunday church meeting on New Year's Day.  The next day he would have been back to working on his farm.

On December 15th and 16th, the 40th Indiana was in the middle of another large and bloody battle south of Nashville.  What became known as the Battle of Nashville was another Confederate defeat; Hood was forced back across the Tennessee River, and his army fell apart.  The Union army pursued the remainder of the Confederate forces through Tennessee and into Alabama and Mississippi.

Sherman has completed his march to the sea, and occupied Savannah as the defenders abandoned the city and moved into South Carolina, where they hoped to find reinforcements.  Sherman prepared to continue his destruction moving north through the Carolinas.  He did spare Savannah from the torch. but South Carolina cities would not be so fortunate.

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More Information:

• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 187-194.
  
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1II, Red River to Appomattox, Shelby Foote, p. 682-731. 
• Shrouds of Glory: From Atlanta to Nashville, Winston Groom, pp 224-275. 
• Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, p. 655-670.
•  Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, pp. 668-722.
  
• Events: 1864    

 NEXT POST: JANUARY 15TH