The American Civil War - Chronologically

August 28–29, 1861 Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries (or Battle of Forts Hatteras and Clark) Outer Banks off North Carolina, near Cape Hatteras Major General Benjamin F. Butler (Department of Virginia): Col. Rush Hawkins (9th New York Infantry Regiment; 220 men), Col. Max Weber ( 20th New York Infantry Regiment; 500 men), Cpt. William Nixon (99th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment ["Union Coast Guard"]; 100 men), Lt. Frank H. Larned (Detachment, 2nd US Artillery Regiment; 60 men) & Flag Officer Silas H. Stringham (Atlantic Blockading Squadron): USS Monticello (1859). USS Harriet Lane, USS Minnesota (1855), USS Wabash (1855), USS Susquehanna (1850), USS Cumberland (1842), USS Pawnee (1859), and the Fanny. vs. Col. William F. Martin (17th North Carolina Infantry Regiment), Col. Andrews (Fort Hatteras Garrison), and  unspecified naval volunteers, including Flag Officer  Samuel Barron * "the first combined operation of the Union Army and Navy in the American Civil War...

Aug. 26,  1861 Battle of Kessler's Cross Lanes (or Battle of Cross Lanes, or Battle of Forks and Knives) Nicholas County, West[ern] Virginia Gen. Jacob Cox: Gen. Erastus Tyler (who wasn't so great here, but generally kicked ass in the Eastern Theatre before commanding the defenses at Baltimore) vs. Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd (previous Governor of VA and Secretary of War under Buchanan; goes on to lose Fort Donelson)   * Floyd, commanding Confederate forces in the Kanawha Valley, crossed the Gauley River to successfully attack Col. Erastus Tyler's 7th Ohio Infantry Regiment encamped at Kessler's Cross Lanes. They say that after the surprise strike "the two wings of Tyler's line retreated in opposite directions." However, the Union quickly and decisively strikes back at Carnifex Ferry , where Floyd took a more effective defensive position, a couple weeks later. * "Throughout the rout and carnage Major Jack Casement, at the head of Tyler's left wing, c...

Aug. 4-6, 1861 Dawn Ambush on the Potomac Lovettsville, VA (Loudon County) 28th New York Infantry ( Loudoun County Unionist Samuel Means) vs. Capt. William W. Mead's Loudoun Cavalry (Co. K, 6th Virginia Cavalry) https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=223884 First Clash On Loudoun Soil Dawn Ambush on the Potomac River Frontier You are standing within the foundation of a shed used for a bunkhouse early in the war. In the spring and summer of 1861, twenty-one men of Capt. William W. Mead's Loudoun Cavalry (Co. K, 6th Virginia Cavalry) were posted here. The lane behind you which goes to McKimmey's Landing, then led to the Point of Rocks toll bridge over the Potomac River. Mead's men partly burned the bridge on June 9 on orders of Col. Thomas J. (later "Stonewall") Jackson, then kept their eyes on the Union troops on the Maryland side of the river. On the evening of August 4, Loudoun County Unionist Samuel Means of Waterford guided sixty men of the 28th New York Infantry a...

July 31, 1861 "Southern Sympathizers Sought" Bel Air, MD https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=248758 "I n July 31, 1861, Capt. Daniel Leasure and 300 men from his 12th Pennsylvania Infantry halted here at Bel Air's courthouse square. War had begun in earnest, the First Battle of Bull Run was fought on July 21, and many residents of Harford County harbored Southern sympathy. The Union troops were here to hunt out Confederate sympathizers and confiscate weapons from local militia units. After a brief halt at the courthouse, the troops moved out to block all the roads leading out of Bel Air and began rounding up local citizens including Capt. Archer Jarrett of the Harford Light Dragoon, Henry Farandis, former state senator, and Thomas Hays, merchant. Jarret was arrested, but refused to divulge the location of his militia's weapons. Leasure's men then searched the homes of Farandis and Hays, but found no arms. Hays was also arrested, but both he and Jarrett were released...

September 3, 1861 Skirmish at Gauley Bridge Gauley Bridge, WV McClellan: Gen. Jacob Cox (awaiting reinforcements from Rosecrans)> Col. Erasmus Tyler (7th OH) vs. Lee: (former VA Governor and Secretary of War) John B. Floyd / (also a former VA Governor and Floyd's rival) General Henry Wise > Gen. Henry Heth   * "A minor battle during the military campaign that secured Union occupation of West Virginia at the start of the American Civil War. " * "During the Civil War, the bridge was hotly contested as the Confederate and Union troops tried to gain a hold on the upper Kanawha River valley. From 1861 through 1862, Gauley Bridge changed hands three times until the confederate troops were pushed southeast into Greenbrier County. As troops battled over possession of the bridge, it was burned, rebuilt and burned again." * "The town achieved notoriety during the 1930s with the nearby construction of the Hawks Nest Dam and Tunnel. It was during the Great Depres...