March 17: John Pelham

On this date in History .... March 17, 1863:  

John Pelham, age 24, dies at the battle of Kelleysville while standing in his horse stirrups, crying out “Press forward, press forward to glory & victory!” Pelham was considered one of the greatest officers of the Confederate Army, his artillery precision unsurpassed. He left West Point just short of graduating to join the Confederate military.

Gen. Stonewall Jackson said, “With a Pelham on each flank I believe I could whip the world.” Many southern towns are named after him & Gen. J.E.B. Stuart named his daughter after Pelham. 

Pelham's greatest battle was at Fredericksburg where he confused a federal army of 120,000 men with his brilliant one-gun barrage from their flank. His contribution to the Confederate victory that day was a major one and General Robert E. Lee cited the part played by "the gallant Pelham" in his official report    (source: http://www.usa-civil-war.com/Civil_War/pelham.html)

March 3: The Civil War Draft is Passed

On this date in History .... 1863:

Congress passes the Civil War conscription act, the country’s first military draft of U.S. citizens.

Exemptions from the draft could be bought for $300, allowing the buyers to hire a substitute to go into the military in their place, which led to riots in New York City since only the wealthy could afford to pay for an exemption and those who couldn’t afford it had to be drafted and go to battle.

The Confederacy had a similar law and included a clause that exempted overseers or plantations owners, something that was antagonistic to those who were fighting in the Confederate Army, laying way to Confederate soldiers referring to the Civil War as a “rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.”

.

 

February 4: Confederate States Congress

On this date in History .... 1861:

The Provisional Confederate Congress convenes and begins drafting a constitution.  The Confederate Constitution was modeled after the U.S. Constitution, using many parts of it word for word.  Some differences included: 


·         The president would serve for a six-year term.

·         The word “slave” was actually used and the institution of slavery was protected in all existing and future states. However ….

·         The importation of slaves was banned for fear of making enemies of European countries and fear of diminishing the existing (and profitable) slave trade already going on in the southern United States.

·         The president was given a line-item veto.

·         States powers were enhanced by banning governmental money for internal improvements.

Jefferson Davis was selected as the President of the Confederate States.  He was officially "elected" (ran unopposed) to a six-year term on November 6, 1861. He never served the full six years since the Confederacy was disolved in 1865. 

Davis graduated 23rd in his class from West Point and came from a family filled with military tradition.  His father and uncles fought in the Revoluntionary War.  All of his older brothers fought in the War of 1812.  Davis himself proved himself in the military during the Blackhawk War of 1831 when Chief Blackhawk was captured and placed under the care of Davis.  Davis won Blackhawk over due to the kind care Davis extended to the chief.

Davis's first wife was Sara Knox Taylor, daughter of General Zachary Taylor, who would become a President of the United Stated.  The General did not approve of the marriage and Davis resigned his military position "to take up civic duties" before the marriage.  Sara died of malaria just a few months into their marriage.