In August of 1861, President Lincoln signed the 1st Confiscation Act formalizing to some degree Butler’s contraband argument by authorizing the United States army to seize any slave used to aid the Confederate military. This however did not resolve the ambiguity of the status of the majority of enslaved people who now numbered in the thousands in and around Union army camps. The decision as to whether these people were free, property of the army, or to be returned to their masters was essentially left to the discretion of individual army officers. The 2nd Confiscation Act passed by Congress in the summer of 1862 was far stronger than its predecessor authorizing the army to seize any property including human property of those in rebellion and
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On March 8, 1862, the CSS Virginia, popularly known as the Merrimac after the ship from which it had been salvaged, became the first ironclad warship to sink an enemy vessel, when it attacked the Union fleet at Hampton Roads sinking the USS Cumberland and running the USS Congress aground. The following day, the USS Monitor, the first ironclad warship of the United States Navy, arrived at the natural harbor and the two state of the art vessels engaged each other in the first battle between ironclad warships in world history. The battle ended indecisively, with the Merrimac retiring back down the James River and the Monitor deciding not to pursue it. …show more content…
Many cavalry regiments in the Army of the Potomac were also outfitted with breech-loaders. Infantry regiments in the Army of the Potomac were at the time outfitted with muzzleloaders.
A muzzle loading rifle musket like the one with which Lindsey would have been armed could have been loaded and fired three times per minute by a trained soldier.
The Battle of Fair Oaks or Seven Pines began on May 31, 1862 when the army of Confederate General Joseph Johnston launched attacking a portion of McClellan’s army seemingly isolated on the south bank of the Chickahominy River with the arrival of Union reinforcements the battle only increased in intensity and General Johnston was severely wounded. The battle resumed on the morning of June 1, but neither side succeeded at driving the other from the field. In the afternoon the fighting ceased with both sides locked in a stalemate. 5,000 Union and 6,000 Confederate soldiers had been killed or wounded, including Charles Lindsay and 35 other soldiers from the 36th New York. (S7) (Regimental
On March 8, 1862, the CSS Virginia, popularly known as the Merrimac after the ship from which it had been salvaged, became the first ironclad warship to sink an enemy vessel, when it attacked the Union fleet at Hampton Roads sinking the USS Cumberland and running the USS Congress aground. The following day, the USS Monitor, the first ironclad warship of the United States Navy, arrived at the natural harbor and the two state of the art vessels engaged each other in the first battle between ironclad warships in world history. The battle ended indecisively, with the Merrimac retiring back down the James River and the Monitor deciding not to pursue it. …show more content…
Many cavalry regiments in the Army of the Potomac were also outfitted with breech-loaders. Infantry regiments in the Army of the Potomac were at the time outfitted with muzzleloaders.
A muzzle loading rifle musket like the one with which Lindsey would have been armed could have been loaded and fired three times per minute by a trained soldier.
The Battle of Fair Oaks or Seven Pines began on May 31, 1862 when the army of Confederate General Joseph Johnston launched attacking a portion of McClellan’s army seemingly isolated on the south bank of the Chickahominy River with the arrival of Union reinforcements the battle only increased in intensity and General Johnston was severely wounded. The battle resumed on the morning of June 1, but neither side succeeded at driving the other from the field. In the afternoon the fighting ceased with both sides locked in a stalemate. 5,000 Union and 6,000 Confederate soldiers had been killed or wounded, including Charles Lindsay and 35 other soldiers from the 36th New York. (S7) (Regimental