Category: Civil War in My Delta
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Clerking for Cleburne
This staff included not only officers who served as aides, but enlisted men that served as clerks. Two of these clerks were cousins from Helena.
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The Story of the Seven Generals: Volume One,Charles W.Adams
Charles William Adams is honored as being one of the seven Confederate generals who lived at Helena during the Civil War. Although only really an acting Brigadier General, he was head of a sub-department during the war. He also had two close friends who recommended him to become a Brigadier General. These men were Patrick…
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Engagement at St. Charles
The small town of St. Charles, Arkansas is most remembered as the site of what some historians call “the deadliest shot of the Civil War.” To understand what occurred, we have to go back to that fateful day on June 17, 1862. Two weeks earlier Major General Thomas C. Hindman, anticipating the fall of Memphis,…
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Expedition from Helena to Grenada: Part 3
General Alvin P. Hovey’s expedition toward Grenada, Mississippi in late 1862 was part of the overall strategy to take Vicksburg by Ulysses Simpson Grant. It consisted of two wings. One section under General Cadwallader C. Washburn consisted of two brigades of cavalry. Their job was to push ahead of the main force, burn railroad bridges…
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Expedition from Helena to Grenada: Part 2
The massive expedition that left Delta was headed by Brigadier Generals Alvin P. Hovey and Cadwalader C. Washburn. Alvin Hovey was born on September 6, 1821 at Posey County, Indiana. During the Mexican War he served as a First Lieutenant in the 2nd Indiana Regiment. After returning home he practiced law and was involved in…
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Expedition from Helena toward Grenada: Part One
After the successful battle of Corinth in October 1862 General Ulysses S. Grant began his move down the Mississippi Central Railroad in an attempt to capture Vicksburg by an overland route. Hoping to help in this endeavor General Samuel Curtis instructed Brigadier General Cadwalader C. Washburn to report to Helena and organize a movement with…
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Lieutenant Adam B. Smith and the Battle of Helena
Adam Burns Smith enlisted in a company being organized at Jefferson City, Missouri on August 14, 1862. The men soon joined other companies at Benton Barracks in St. Louis where they formed Company B of the 33rd Missouri Infantry on August 29th. Young Adam became Second Sergeant of his company as the recruits trained for…
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Colonel Willliam F. Wood
William Francis Wood was born March 23, 1826 in Ireland. As many people did during this time he eventually traveled to America to start a new life. He soon married and was living in Indiana when the Civil War began. He joined the First Indiana Cavalry as chaplain on August 18, 1861. Wood was then…
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Engagement at Brown’s Gin
On August 11, 1862 a brief but deadly battle took place on the line between Tunica and Coahoma counties in Northwest Mississippi. Company A of the 47th Indiana Infantry consisting of forty five men and thirteen cavalry were attacked by an unknown number of Confederates at Brown’s Gin. The Union soldiers were under the command…
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Battle of Hunt’s Mill
The Yazoo Pass is a small and winding stream that connects Moon Lake to the Coldwater River. After the Mississippi Delta was opened to settlement in the late 1830s, thousands of families moved in to start a new life farming. Because Tunica and Coahoma counties were located in the northern section of the delta, many…
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