May 22, 1944 - Monday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) -New Guinea 

May 19th:  Underway until 11 AM, anchored the rest of the day at Hollandia.  Several alerts due to air attacks.  Temperatures 80s, light winds.  General quarters in late evening; all clear by midnight.

May 20th: Anchored all day until 7 PM.  Temperatures 80s, light winds.  Fueling in morning, left port with task force in the evening.  Task force destination was Sawar, a coastal airfield a little further west from the Wakde area.

May 21st: Underway all day.  Temperatures 80s, light breezes.

May 22nd: Underway all day, patrolling in the Sawar/Wakde area.  Temperatures 80s, light breezes.

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The Wakde invasion was the next jump across the north side of New Guinea.  Landings were successful, and the airfield at Wakde would be operational by the 21st.

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In the Central Pacific, the focus was now mostly on gathering forces for the invasion of the Mariana Islands, with Guam, Saipan and Tinian being the main island targets.  This operation was slated to begin in mid-June.

Fighting continues in Italy at Anzio and at Monte Cassino. The fourth and final assault in the Monte Cassino area was underway.  In the next few weeks, Rome would be captured, but an opportunity was lost to cut off and surround a large German force.

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More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 484-486. 
• New Guinea and the Marianas, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 96-102, 157-169.
• War at the End of the World, James P. Duffy, pp, 311-317.
  
• Events of May, 1944
  
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, May 1944

NEXT POST:  MAY 26TH

 

May 22, 1864 - Sunday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Howard's Corps - Newton's Division - Wagner's Brigade

On the 19th, the Union army enters Kingston, and the left at Cassville skirmishes with a Confederate corps identified as Hardee's.  Johnston stops at Cassville GA, regroups and turns to attack. General Hood with his corps is given the lead in the Confederate advance, and the attack is coordinated with the rest of the army.  Hood hesitates when he perceives a threat on his right; the timing, and the moment are lost.  Sherman continues to advance and flank the Confederates, so they begin to retreat again.

General Howard's corps is ordered to move toward Kingston on the 20th.  General Hooker's troops are ordered to Howard's left and to push toward Cassville.  This is mostly a day of rest for the army after the long advance and some intense fighting.  Newton's division (with the 40th Indiana) is not in the front line and finds a campsite near a creek to obtain a good supply of fresh water.

The 21st is a day of preparation in the Union army for another advance south.  The army will take provisions designed to last 20 days without replenishing from the railroad.  The initial target is Dallas, GA.  This is another attempt to pass the left flank of the Confederate army.

On the 22nd, as Sherman advances toward Dallas, GA, Johnston interposes, moving from Allatoona to Dallas and New Hope Church.  This is where the fighting will be concentrated for the next several days.

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Virginia Campaign

Grant's Union army, despite taking heavy casualties, continues south and east in an attempt to reach Richmond.  The armies meet again at a railroad junction near Hanover, VA, about 15 miles north of Richmond.

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Here is a map of the area in Georgia, Kingston and Cassville are near the top.  Dallas is bottom center, and New Hope Church is a few miles northeast of Dallas.

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXXVIII, Chapter L, Part IV, Correspondence, pp. 248-294.
  
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. p. 161.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1II, Red River to Appomattox, Shelby Foote, pp. 338-346.
• Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Retreat With Honor, pp. 302-305.
  
• Decision In The West, The Atlanta Campaign of 1864, Albert Castel, pp, 200-217.
• Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, pp. 562-564.
• Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, pp. 505-512.
  
• Events: 1864
  

NEXT POST:  MAY 26TH