Monthly Archives: January 2009

1816 US Major General Nathanial P. Banks US Major General Nathanial P. Banks was born in Waltham, MA.  Receiving only a minimal education, he would later apprentice as a mechanic.  After editing several newspapers, he would end up studying law, being … Continue reading →

1861 Kansas enters the Union as a free state.  Since 1854, it was unknown whether Kansas would become a free state – or a slave state.  With the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, states entering the Union would decide, by … Continue reading →

1828 Confederate Major General Thomas C. Hindman was born, in Knoxville, TN.  He would find himself present when Arkansas voted 65-5 to secede from the United States.  Hindman would raise ten companies of Arkansas volunteers by June 1861.  He would … Continue reading →

1826 CS Lieutenant General Richard Taylor was born at the family estate near Louisville, Kentucky.  Taylor was the son of Mexican War general, and president, Zachary Taylor.  With the outbreak of sectional hostilities, Taylor would become an aide to CS general … Continue reading →

1814 US Brigadier General Rufus King was born in New York City.  His grandfather was a delegate, from Massachusetts, to the Continental Congress, and would be involved in the Constitutional Convention.  King would graduate from Columbia University.  He would later … Continue reading →

1863 US Major General Ambrose Burnside is relieved of command, of the Army of the Potomac.  After Burnside’s defeat at Fredericksburg, in December 1862, and the “Mud March,” in January, Lincoln had had enough.  His replacement was Joseph Hooker, who … Continue reading →

1863 US Major General Ambrose Burnside ends the “Mud March.”  Conceived as a means of reviving his reputation – with his troops and the civilian authorities, Burnside attempted to march a portion of his army up the banks of the Rappahannock … Continue reading →