Slave To Soldier

About twenty-two United State Colored Cavalry were killed on January 25th 1865 in Simpsonville, KY by irregular Confederate troops.

A company of black soldiers from the 5th United States Colored Cavalry were assigned in January 1865 to drive 900 head of cattle to a railroad depot near Louisville from Camp Nelson in Jessamine County. Just a few months earlier, most of these soldiers had been slaves. The men drove the cattle along a trail that would become US Route 60. With a light snow falling on January 25, 1865 in Simpsonville,KY a band of Confederate Irregulars surprised the rear guard of the 5th, and began shooting the men down. It seems that the men of the 5th in the front of the herd didn't know the attack was happening. The people of Simpsonville collected the dead and buried them in a mass grave, and cared for about twenty others who were wounded.

Slave Catching

Her name was Lucy, and she was a slave from Wheeling, Virginia [now West Virginia] and on January 23rd 1861 when she ran to Cleveland, Ohio she became the last slave to be returned under the Fugitive Slave Law.

Senator James Murray Mason of Virginia drafted the second Fugitive Slave Law under pressure from the south and as part of the Compromise of 1850. There were to be special commissioners with complete jurisdiction, there would be no trail by jury and the fugitives were not allowed to speak for themselves. There were penalties for marshals who refused to enforce the law, as well as individuals who aided blacks with their escape. If a slave was returned to their master, the person bringing that slave back would receive a payment.

The Law led to abuses and caused the number of abolitionist to rise. Many states enacted Personal Liberty Laws which extended Habeas Corpus, the privilege of jury trial and severely punished false testimony. The state of Wisconsin's Supreme Court went so far in 1859 as to declare the Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional. The beginning of the Civil War changed things. In May 1861 Major General Benjamin Butler declared that slaves were contraband of war. It wasn't until June 28th 1864 and the Act was repealed.

Knee Deep In The Mud

Begun on January 20th 1863 there was an attempt the flank Robert E Lee’s Army, by Major General Ambrose Burnside known as the Mud March.

After the defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg at the end of 1862, General Burnside was desperate to get back his standing and raise the morale of the Army of the Potomac. As the Union and Confederate armies faced each other across the river, his plan was to make a surprise crossing, south of Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock, and to flank General Robert E Lee, while at the same time having Union Cavalry hit in Lee’s rear taking out his supply lines. Upon learning about the plan Abraham Lincoln, feeling it was to risky, told Burnside to stop. Burnside just revised his plan, simply moving the river crossing to the north of Fredericksburg at Bank’s Ford.

It was an unseasonably warm day on January 20th 1863 when the Army of the Potomac began moving. As evening fell a steady rain began and continued for two days. The troops struggled to move themselves, wagons, pontoons, and artillery through knee-deep mud. While on the other side of the river Confederate pickets watching the amusing sight put up large signs on the riverbank saying “Burnside’s Army Stuck in the Mud” and “This Way to Richmond”. General Burnside finally capitulated to his subordinates and ordered his army back into its camp across from Fredericksburg. The Mud March would mark the end of Burnside’s command. On January 26th 1863 President Lincoln brought in Major General Joseph Hooker to replace him.

He Didin't Die on US Soil

The tenth President of United States, John Tyler Jr died January 18th 1862.

Tyler was the first President to come to the office via succession, when President William Henry Harrison died April 4th 1841. Without question the most important thing that Tyler’s administration can claim is the annexation of Texas.

After his term of service was up, Tyler retired to his plantation in Virginia where he continued to work with the Democrats on the issue of States Rights. On the eve of the Civil War, February 1861 former President Tyler was in Washington, DC as part of the Virginia Peace Convention, which was meeting to try to prevent the coming war. Tyler strongly believed that each state should decide on the state level if it should be “free” or “slave” without interference from the Federal Government. When the Civil War began Tyler joined the Confederacy and went to the Provisional Confederate Congress as a delegate. He was elected to the Confederate Congress as part of the House of Representatives.

President John Tyler’s death would be the first presidential death not to be officially mourned in the Capital. He is also the only president to die while living outside of the United States, as Richmond,Virginia was considered to be a part of the Confederate States. He is buried at his plantation in Virginia.

The Lawyer of the Vermont Brigade

On January 17th 1828 Medal of Honor holder, Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Addison Grant was born.

Lewis Grant was born in Winhall, Vermont the son of James and Elizabeth [Wyman] Grant. He went to local schools, and than taught school in Vermont, New Jersey, and Boston while reading for the bar. In 1855 he was admitted to the bar and began a law practice in Bellows Falls,Vermont.

He was mustered in as a Major of the 5th Vermont Infantry in September 1861. He was promoted several times, was wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, and he took over command of the Vermont Brigade and was leading them in 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was the acting commander of the 2nd Division 6th Corp during the Battle of Cedar Creek.

When the war ended General Ulysses S Grant recommended Lewis for an appointment in the regular army. He was appointed in August 1866 as a Lieutenant Colonel in the 36th Regiment of the United States Infantry, but he turned down the appointment. He lived in Illinois, Iowa and finally settled Minnesota. During President Benjamin Harrison’s administration he was the Assistant United States Secretary of War. He also served in President Grover Cleveland’s cabinet.  Grant was awarded the Medal of Honor in May 1893 for "Personal gallantry and intrepidity displayed in the management of his brigade and in leading it in the assault in which he was wounded.”  He died at Minneapolis March 20th 1918, and is buried in Lakewood Cemetery. He was 90.

Hadn't Planned on the Winter Weather

The Romney Expedition was part of a Confederate Army military expedition into the Shenandoah Valley and was begun January 14th 1862.

The bulk of the action of the Romney Expedition was conducted by forces under Confederate Major General “Stonewall” Thomas J Jackson and Federal Major General Nathaniel Banks. An unusually warm December ended as Jackson issued orders to move into the valley. Stonewall was able to occupy the town of Romney, Virginia [now West Virginia] on January 14th 1862.  From here he planned his advance to Cumberland,Maryland, but the weather became severe, and he had to cancel any further movements. Jackson left William Wing Loring’s division behind to occupy Romney while he returned to Winchester.

Youngest Vice President

The seventeenth Vice President of the United State, United States Representative and Speaker of the House, Schuyler Colfax Jr died on the 13th of January 1885.

Schuyler Colfax Jr was born in New York City March 23th, 1823, the son of Schuyler and Hannah [Stryker] Colfax. His father passed away before he was born. After a time his mother re-married. In 1836 the family moved to New Carlisle, Indiana. He became active in Indiana politics, using the press he became a rising star in the Whig party. He was nominated for Congress in 1850, but lost to his Democratic opponent, he ran successfully two years later. When the Whig party collapsed he became a member of the Republican Party. He was an energetic opponent of slavery. In 1862 he was elected to be the Speaker of the House, it was during his term that he announced the passage of the 13th Amendment. In 1868 Colfax was elected to be Ulysses S Grant’s Vice President [the youngest President and Vice President until 1992]. He died on January 13th 1885 after walking about a mile in cold weather to a train depot in Mankato,Minnesota from a heart attack. He is buried in the City Cemetery in South Bend, Indiana.