August 1
1864- Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan is named commander of the Army of the
Shenandoah, charged with with riding the Valley of Confederates, especially
Jubal Early.
August 2
1861- Federal Congress passes the first national income tax measure, calling 3
percent of incomes over $800.
August 3
1861- A balloon ascension is made at Hampton Roads, Va., from the deck of a
Federal vessel.
August 4
1862- Because of the failure of the July 2 appeal for soldiers, Lincoln issues a new
call for 300,000 nine months militia.
August 5
1864- Farragut is victorious in the Battle of Mobile Bay.
August 6
1861- The US Congress passes a Confiscation Act, providing for the seizure of
property, including slaves, used for insurrectionary purposes.
August 7
1864- Sheridan assumes command of Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley.
- McCausland is defeated at Moorefield, W. Va.
August 8
1863- In the wake of defeat at Gettysburg, Gen. Lee offers to resign as commander
of the Army of Northern Virginia. Pres. Davis rejects the offer.
August 9
1862- Jackson defeats Banks at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., as Lee seeks to
destroy Pope before McClellan's army joins him.
August 10
1861- Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon is killed and his army is defeated by Confederates
at Wilson's Creek, Mo.
1864- Wheeler begins a month-long Confederate cavalry raid on Sherman's
communication lines between Atlanta and Nashville.
August 11
1862- In a daring raid, Confederate guerrillas capture Independence, Mo.
August 12
1863- Pres. Lincoln refuses to give Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand, relieved of corps
command at Vicksburg by Grant, a new command.
August 13
1831- Nat Turner slave insurrection begins at Southampton County, Va.; 55 whites
and about 100 blacks are killed.
August 14
1861- Frémont places St. Louis under martial law.
1862- Maj. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith opens the Confederate invasion of central
Kentucky from Knoxville, Tenn.
- McClellan begins to withdraw the Army of the Potomac from the Peninsula as
ordered by Halleck.
August 15
1863- Burnside opens his drive on Knoxville, Tenn.
August 16
1863- Rosecrans begins to move on Chattanooga, Tenn.
August 17
1862- Maj. Gen. Jeb Stuart is assigned command of all of the Confederate Army of
Northern Virginia's cavalry .
August 18
1864- Battle of Weldon Railroad, Va., begins.
August 19
1861- Confederate Congress agrees to an alliance with Missouri; Missouri now has
two governments, Confederate and Union.
August 20
1861- McClellan assumes command of the newly organized Department and Army
of the Potomac.
August 21
1863- Col. William C. Quantrill's Confederate raiders burn Lawrence, Kan.
1864- After the Battle of Globe Tavern, Grant seizes the Weldon Railroad, leading
south from Petersburg.
- Forrest reaches Memphis, Tenn., on a cavalry raid.
August 22
1864- Judson Kilpatrick's five-day Union cavalry raid fails to destroy Hood's supply
line into Atlanta.
August 23
1864- The fall of Fort Morgan ensures Union control of Mobile Bay.
- Lincoln drafts a secret memorandum, expressing doubt about his re-election.
August 24
1862- Near the Azores, the C.S.S. Alabama is commissioned by the Confederacy.
August 25
1862- Following Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kasas, Federals force some 20,000
people in Missouri from their homes, which are then burned,
August 26
1862- Jackson destroys Pope's supply depot at Manassas Junction, Va.; Pope
turns to pursue Jackson.
August 27
1809- Hannibal Hamlin, U.S. vice president under Abraham Lincoln March 1861-
March 1865, is born in Paris Hill, Maine.
August 28
1861- Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant is given command of Federal troops in
southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois.
1862- Jackson fights Brig. Gen. Rufus King at Groveton, Va., revealing his position
to Pope.
- Bragg's Confederate army leaves Chattanooga to join Kirby Smith in
Kentucky.
August 29
1861- Butler leads a successful Federal amphibious attack upon Hatteras Inlet,
N.C.
1862- Pope attacks Jackson, beginning the Second Battle of Bull Run (Second
Manassas), but fails to dislodge him; Jackson is reinforced by Longstreet.
1864- The Democrats, meeting in Chicago, nominate McClellan for President and
George H. Pendleton for Vice-President on a peace platform.
August 30
1861- Frémont proclaims martial law on Missouri and orders the confiscation of
property and slaves of Missourians aiding the Confederacy.
1862- Longstreet envelops Pope's left flank, and the Second Battle of Bull Run ends
in a Federal rout
- Buell orders the pursuit of Bragg and Kirby Smith.
August 31
1864- Federals cut the Macon and Western Railroad, Hood's last rail connection
into Atlanta.
