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141-622: Waterman was founded in 1919 in Mobile, Alabama by John Barnett Waterman, Henry Crawford Slaton, T.M. Stevens, W.D. Bellingrath, and C.W. Hempstead following their departure from the British-owned Elder Dempster Steamship Company. Waterman and associates started with just one ship, the Eastern Sun leased from the U.S. Shipping Board for service to Liverpool and Manchester . In 1955, McLean Industries, Inc . purchased

282-720: A major general in the Virginia militia on May 4, but the Virginia Convention decided two weeks later that only one major general was required in the state army and Robert E. Lee was their choice. Johnston was then offered a state commission as a brigadier general, which he declined, accepting instead a commission as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army on May 14. Johnston relieved Colonel Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson of command at Harpers Ferry in May and organized

423-544: A mayor-council form of government, with seven members elected from single-member districts . This was approved by voters. As white conservatives increasingly entered the Republican Party in the late 20th century, African-American residents of the city have elected members of the Democratic Party as their candidates of choice. Since the change to single-member districts, more women and African Americans were elected to

564-455: A 30-year period. Mobile averages 120 days per year with at least 0.01 inches (0.3 mm) of rain. Precipitation is heavy year-round. On average, July and August are the wettest months, with frequent and often-heavy shower and thunderstorm activity. October stands out as a slightly drier month than all others. Snow is rare in Mobile, with its last snowfall occurring on December 8, 2017; before this,

705-494: A 48-hour truce , the generals enjoyed an al fresco luncheon of food, drink, and lively music. Canby offered Taylor the same terms agreed upon between Lee and Grant at Appomattox . Taylor accepted the terms and surrendered his command on May 4 at Citronelle, Alabama . Considered one of the Gulf Coast 's cultural centers, Mobile has several art museums, a symphony orchestra, professional opera, professional ballet company, and

846-570: A brigadier general was as a staff officer and that his highest line commission was as a lieutenant colonel; both Sidney Johnston and Lee had been full colonels. Johnston sent an intemperately worded letter to Davis, who was offended enough to discuss its tone with his cabinet. Johnston was placed in command of the Department of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of the Potomac on July 21, 1861, and

987-509: A city of commerce with a primary focus on the cotton and slave trades. Many slaves were transported by ship in the coastwise slave trade from the Upper South. There were many businesses in the city related to the slave trade – people to make clothes, food, and supplies for the slave traders and their wards. The city's booming businesses attracted merchants from the North; by 1850 10% of its population

1128-664: A civilian than he had previously as an artillery officer, Johnston decided to rejoin the Army. He departed for Washington, D.C., in April 1838 and was appointed a first lieutenant of topographic engineers on July 7; on that same day, he received a brevet promotion to captain for the actions at Jupiter Inlet and his explorations of the Florida Everglades . On July 10, 1845, in Baltimore, Johnston married Lydia Mulligan Sims McLane (1822–1887),

1269-562: A copious number of T2 tankers for the War Department. Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation , a subsidiary of Waterman Steamship Corporation , focused on building freighters , Fletcher -class destroyers , and minesweepers . The rapid increase of population in the city produced crowded conditions, increasing social tensions in the competition for housing and good jobs. In May 1943, a race riot broke out between whites and blacks. ADDSCO management had long maintained segregated conditions at

1410-455: A field army command more desirable than his current, mostly administrative post. Still, his sense of honor prevented him from achieving this personal gain at Bragg's expense. After interviewing Bragg and several of his subordinates, he produced a generally positive report and refused to relieve the army commander. Davis ordered Bragg to a meeting in Richmond and designated Johnston to take command in

1551-423: A field hospital, he rejoined the army at Puebla. During the advance toward Mexico City, he was second in command of the " U.S. Regiment of Voltigeurs ", a unit composed of light infantry or skirmishers. He distinguished himself at Contreras and Churubusco , was wounded again at Chapultepec , and received two brevet promotions for the latter two engagements, ending the war as a brevet colonel of volunteers. (After

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1692-555: A fighting evacuation (the Battle of Jackson , May 14) and retreated with his force north. Grant captured the city and then faced to the west to approach Vicksburg. Johnston began to move his force west to join Pemberton when he heard of that general's defeat at Champion Hill (May 16) and Big Black River Bridge (May 17). The survivors retreated to the fortifications of Vicksburg. Johnston urged Pemberton to avoid being surrounded by abandoning

1833-479: A general in the Confederate Army and attempted to justify his career as a cautious campaigner. The book sold poorly, and its publisher failed to make a profit. Although many Confederate generals criticized Johnston, Sherman and Grant portrayed him favorably in their memoirs. Sherman described him as a "dangerous and wily opponent" and criticized Johnston's nemeses, Hood and Davis. Grant supported his decisions in

1974-565: A group is called a krewe .) The city gained its name from the Mobile tribe that the French colonists encountered living in the area of Mobile Bay . Although it is debated by Alabama historians, they may have been descendants of the Native American tribe whose small fortress town, Mabila , was used to conceal several thousand native warriors before an attack in 1540 on the expedition of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto . About seven years after

2115-620: A journey to visit Benito Juárez 's government in Veracruz. He was also ordered to inspect possible military routes across the country in case of further hostilities. Brig. Gen. Thomas Jesup , the Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army, died on June 10, 1860. Winfield Scott was responsible for naming a replacement, but instead of one name, he offered four possibilities: Joseph E. Johnston, Albert Sidney Johnston (no relation), Robert E. Lee, and Charles F. Smith . Although Jefferson Davis, now

2256-484: A large concentration of historic architecture. Mobile is known for having the oldest organized Carnival or Mardi Gras celebrations in the United States. Alabama's French Creole population celebrated this festival from the first decade of the 18th century. Beginning in 1830, Mobile was host to the first formally organized Carnival mystic society to celebrate with a parade in the United States. (In New Orleans, such

2397-610: A majority for their candidates in the informally segregated city. In 1969, the Brookley Air Force Base was closed by the Department of Defense, dealing a severe blow to Mobile's economy. The closing resulted in a 10% unemployment rate in the city. This and other factors related to industrial restructuring ushered in a period of economic depression that lasted through the 1970s. The loss of jobs created numerous problems and resulted in loss of population as residents moved away for work. Mobile's city commission form of government

2538-681: A member of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, favored Albert Sidney Johnston, Secretary of War Floyd chose Joseph E. Johnston for the position. Johnston was promoted to brigadier general on June 28, 1860. Johnston did not enjoy the position, preferring field command to administration in Washington. In addition, he suffered from the pressures of the imminent sectional crisis and the ethical dilemma of administering war matériel that might prove useful to his native South. He did not yield to temptation, however, as Secretary of War Floyd

2679-463: A path ending in Prichard. Initial damage estimates for insured and uninsured ranged from $ 140 to $ 150 million. Mobile's French and Spanish colonial history has given it a culture distinguished by French, Spanish, Creole , African and Catholic heritage, in addition to later British and American influences. It is distinguished from all other cities in the state of Alabama. The annual Carnival celebration

2820-460: A series of unsuccessful maneuvers during the winter of 1862–63 to the north of the fortress city, but followed in April 1863 with an ambitious campaign that began with Grant's army crossing the Mississippi River southwest of Vicksburg. Catching Lt. Gen. Pemberton by surprise, the U.S. army waged a series of successful battles as it moved northeast toward the state capital of Jackson . On May 9,

2961-587: A sign of respect, although the weather was cold and rainy. Someone concerned for his health asked him to put on his hat, to which Johnston replied, "If I were in his place, and he were standing here in mine, he would not put on his hat." He did catch a cold that day, which developed into pneumonia , and Johnston died one month later in Washington, D.C. He was buried next to his wife in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore , Maryland . Johnston's papers are held by

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3102-418: A single term. He was appointed as commissioner of railroads under Grover Cleveland . Johnston died of pneumonia one month after attending Sherman's funeral. Johnston was born at Longwood House in "Cherry Grove", near Farmville, Virginia , on February 3, 1807. (Longwood House later burned down. The rebuilt house was the birthplace in 1827 of Charles S. Venable , an officer on the staff of Robert E. Lee . It

3243-670: A spectrum of cultures. Mobile's official cultural ambassadors are the Azalea Trail Maids , meant to embody the ideals of Southern hospitality . Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer , who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars . After Virginia declared secession from

3384-510: A stop in Havana . Though most of the " Pélican girls" recovered, numerous colonists and neighboring Native Americans contracted the disease in turn and many died. This early period was also the occasion of the importation of the first African slaves , transported aboard a French supply ship from the French colony of Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean , where they had first been held. The population of

3525-539: A week later, the loss of Vicksburg gave the United States complete control of the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in two. President Davis wryly ascribed the strategic defeat to a "want of provisions inside and a general outside [Johnston] who would not fight." The relationship between Johnston and Davis, difficult since the early days of the war, became bitter as recriminations were traded publicly about who

3666-499: Is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama , United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 census . After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobile's population increased to 204,689 residents, making it the fourth-most populous city in Alabama, after Montgomery , Birmingham , and Huntsville . Mobile is the principal municipality of

3807-538: Is famous for its extensive murals in the lobby and a large rotating globe. The globe can now be seen on display at the Mitchell Center at the University of South Alabama . This article related to a United States ship transport company is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( / m oʊ ˈ b iː l / moh- BEEL , French: [mɔbil] )

3948-455: Is founded on the consent of the governed , and that every community strong enough to establish and maintain its independence, has a right to assert it. Having been educated in such opinions, I naturally determined to return to the State of which I was a native, join the people among whom I was born, and live with my kindred, and if necessary, fight in their defense." He was initially commissioned as

4089-488: Is now used as the residence of the president of Longwood University .) His grandfather, Peter Johnston, emigrated to Virginia from Scotland in 1726. Joseph was the seventh son of Judge Peter Johnston Jr. (1763–1831) and Mary Valentine Wood (1769–1825), a daughter of Patrick Henry 's sister, Lucy Wood. He was named for Major Joseph Eggleston , under whom his father served in the American Revolutionary War , in

4230-404: Is perhaps the best example of its differences. Mobile is the birthplace of the celebration of Mardi Gras in the United States and has the oldest celebration, dating to the early 18th century during the French colonial period. Carnival in Mobile evolved over the course of 300 years from a beginning as a sedate French Catholic tradition into the mainstream multi-week celebration that today bridges

4371-556: The Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad Company, which during his tenure of May 1866 to November 1867, was renamed the Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad . Johnston was bored with the position, and the company failed for a lack of capital. He established Joseph E. Johnston & Company, an insurance agency for New York Life Insurance Co. and a British insurance company, which Johnston operated out of Savannah (Ga.) from 1868 to 1877. The British company

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4512-905: The Army of Northern Virginia for the rest of the war. Lee began by driving McClellan from the Peninsula during the Seven Days Battles of late June and beating a U.S. army a second time near Bull Run in August. Johnston was prematurely discharged from the hospital on November 24, 1862, and appointed to command the Department of the West, the principal command of the Western Theater , which gave him titular control of Gen. Braxton Bragg 's Army of Tennessee and Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton 's Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana . (The other major force in this area

4653-566: The Army of the Shenandoah in July. In the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas), July 21, 1861, Johnston rapidly moved his small army from the Shenandoah Valley to reinforce that of Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard , but he lacked familiarity with the terrain and ceded tactical planning of the battle to the more junior Beauregard as a professional courtesy. At midday, while Beauregard

4794-621: The Atlanta Campaign . In the war's final days, Johnston was returned to command of the few remaining forces in the Carolinas Campaign . U.S. Army generals Ulysses S. Grant and Sherman praised his actions in the war and became friends with Johnston afterward. After the war, Johnston served as an executive in the railroad and insurance businesses. He was elected as a Democrat in the United States House of Representatives , serving

4935-661: The Battles for Chattanooga in November. Bragg resigned from his command of the Army of Tennessee and returned to Richmond as military adviser to the president. Davis offered the position to William J. Hardee , the senior corps commander, who refused. He considered P.G.T. Beauregard, another general with whom he had poor personal relations, and Robert E. Lee. Lee, reluctant to leave Virginia, first recommended Beauregard, but sensing Davis's discomfort, he changed his recommendation to Johnston. After much agonizing, Davis appointed Johnston to command

5076-478: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 , eventually ending legal segregation and regaining effective suffrage for African Americans. But whites in the state had more than one way to reduce African Americans' voting power. Maintaining the city commission form of government with at-large voting resulted in all positions being elected by the white majority, as African Americans could not command

5217-505: The Gulf of Mexico provides a mild subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ), with hot, humid summers and mild, rainy winters. The record low temperature was −1 °F (−18 °C), set on February 13, 1899, and the record high was 105 °F (41 °C), set on August 29, 2000. A 2007 study by WeatherBill, Inc. determined that Mobile is the wettest city in the contiguous 48 states, with 66.3 inches (1,680 mm) of average annual rainfall over

5358-465: The Mobile metropolitan area , a region of 430,197 residents composed of Mobile and Washington counties; it is the third-largest metropolitan area in the state after Birmingham and Huntsville. Alabama's only saltwater port, Mobile is located on the Mobile River at the head of Mobile Bay on the north-central Gulf Coast . The Port of Mobile has always played a key role in the economic health of

5499-562: The Progressive Era to Mobile. The economic structure developed with new industries, generating new jobs and attracting a significant increase in population. The population increased from around 40,000 in 1900 to 60,000 by 1920. During this time the city received $ 3 million in federal grants for harbor improvements to deepen the shipping channels. During and after World War I, manufacturing became increasingly vital to Mobile's economic health, with shipbuilding and steel production being two of

5640-470: The Siege of Veracruz , having been chosen by Scott to be the officer carrying the demand for surrender beforehand to the provincial governor. He was in the vanguard of the movement inland under Brig. Gen. David E. Twiggs and was severely wounded by grapeshot performing reconnaissance before the Battle of Cerro Gordo . He was appointed a brevet lieutenant colonel for his actions at Cerro Gordo. After recovering in

5781-558: The Sioux in the Wyoming Territory and in the violence over slavery in the future state, known as Bleeding Kansas . He developed a mentor relationship and close friendship with one of his junior officers, Capt. George B. McClellan , who would later command the U.S. Army against Johnston. In the fall of 1856, Johnston was transferred to a depot for recruits at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri . In 1857 he led surveying expeditions to determine

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5922-549: The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Seven Years' War , which Britain won, defeating France. By this treaty, France ceded its territories east of the Mississippi River to Britain. This area was made a part of the expanded British West Florida colony. The British changed the name of Fort Condé to Fort Charlotte , after Queen Charlotte . The British were eager not to lose any useful inhabitants and promised religious tolerance to

6063-559: The 1763 Treaty of Paris. Their actions were condoned by the revolting American colonies, partially evidenced by the presence of Oliver Pollack, representative of the American Continental Congress. Due to strong trade ties, many residents of Mobile and West Florida remained loyal to the British Crown . The Spanish renamed the fort as Fortaleza Carlota, and held Mobile as a part of Spanish West Florida until 1813, when it

6204-634: The Army in March 1837 and studied civil engineering. During the Second Seminole War , he was a civilian topographic engineer aboard a ship led by William Pope McArthur . On January 12, 1838, at Jupiter, Florida , the sailors who had gone ashore were attacked. Johnston said there were "no less than 30 bullet holes" in his clothing, and one bullet creased his scalp, leaving a scar he had for the rest of his life. Having encountered more combat activities in Florida as

6345-472: The Army of Tennessee in Dalton, Georgia, on December 27, 1863. Faced with Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman 's advance from Chattanooga to Atlanta in the spring of 1864, Johnston conducted a series of withdrawals that appeared similar to his Peninsula Campaign strategy. He repeatedly prepared strong defensive positions, only to see Sherman maneuver around them in expert turning movements , causing him to fall back in

6486-601: The Cater Act in 1949, allowing cities and counties to set up industrial development boards (IDB) to issue municipal bonds as incentives to attract new industry into their local areas. The city of Mobile did not establish a Cater Act board until 1962. George E. McNally , Mobile's first Republican mayor since Reconstruction, was the driving force behind the founding of the IDB. The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, believing its members were better qualified to attract new businesses and industry to

6627-537: The Civil War, much to Johnston's irritation. Despite this disagreement, Davis thought enough of Johnston to appoint him lieutenant colonel in one of the newly formed regiments, the 1st U.S. Cavalry at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas , under Col. Edwin V. "Bull" Sumner , on March 1, 1855. (At this same time, Robert E. Lee was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry under Col. Albert Sidney Johnston (no relation). In this role, Johnston participated in actions against

6768-544: The Confederate Secretary of War directed Johnston to "proceed at once to Mississippi and take chief command of the forces in the field." Johnston informed Richmond that he was still medically unfit but would obey the order. When he arrived in Jackson on May 13 from Middle Tennessee, he learned that two U.S. Army corps were advancing on the city and that only 6,000 Confederate troops were available to hold it. Johnston ordered

6909-552: The Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia , during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign , withdrawing under the pressure of U.S. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan 's superior force. He suffered a severe wound at the Battle of Seven Pines and was replaced by Robert E. Lee . In 1863, Johnston was placed in command of the Department of the West . In 1864, he commanded the Army of Tennessee against U.S. Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in

7050-521: The Confederate position had not been nearly as strong as he had portrayed. But more importantly, it required him to replan his spring offensive, and instead of an amphibious landing at his preferred target of Urbanna , he chose the Virginia Peninsula , between the James and York Rivers, as his avenue of approach toward Richmond. In early April 1862, McClellan, having landed his troops at Fort Monroe at

7191-593: The Confederates' fierce defenses at the Battle of New Hope Church on May 25, the Battle of Pickett's Mill on May 27, and the Battle of Dallas on May 28. In June, Sherman's forces continued maneuvers around the northern approaches to Atlanta. The Battle of Kolb's Farm ensued on June 22, followed by Sherman's first (and only) attempt at a massive frontal assault in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, which Johnston vigorously repulsed. However, U.S. forces were within 17 miles of Atlanta by this time, threatening

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7332-829: The Department of Northern Virginia on October 22. From July to November 1861, he was headquartered at the Conner House in Manassas. The winter of 1861–62 was relatively quiet for Johnston in his Centreville headquarters, concerned primarily with organization and equipment issues, as the principal Northern army, also named Army of the Potomac , was being organized by George B. McClellan. McClellan perceived Johnston's army as overwhelmingly strong in its fortifications, prompting him to plan an amphibious movement around Johnston's flank. In early March, learning of U.S. offensive preparations, Johnston withdrew his army to Culpeper Court House . This movement had repercussions on both sides. President Davis

7473-447: The Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia; he assumed command of the latter department on March 6. These commands included three Confederate field armies, including the remnants of the once formidable Army of Tennessee, but they were armies in name only. The Tennessee army had been severely depleted at Franklin and Nashville, lacked sufficient supplies and ammunition, and

7614-739: The French colonists; ultimately 112 French colonists remained in Mobile. The first permanent Jewish settlers came to Mobile in 1763 as a result of the new British rule and religious tolerance. Jews had not been allowed to officially reside in colonial French Louisiana due to the Code Noir , a decree passed by France's King Louis XIV in 1685 that forbade the exercise of any religion other than Roman Catholicism, and ordered all Jews out of France's colonies. Most of these colonial-era Jews in Mobile were merchants and traders from Sephardic Jewish communities in Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina ; they added to

7755-607: The Gulf Coast cities. A storm surge of 11.45 feet (3.49 m), topped by higher waves, damaged eastern sections of the city with extensive flooding in downtown, the Battleship Parkway , and the elevated Jubilee Parkway . In late December 2012, the city suffered two tornado hits. On December 25, 2012, at 4:54 pm, a large wedge tornado touched down in the city. The tornado rapidly intensified as it moved north-northeast at speeds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h). The path took

7896-621: The Kansas border, including a corner monument that would later lead to a Supreme Court case . Later that year, Davis was replaced as Secretary of War by John B. Floyd , a native of Abingdon and a cousin of Johnston's by marriage. He had been a former guardian of Preston Johnston. Floyd made Johnston a brevet colonel for his actions at Cerro Gordo, a promotion that caused grumbling within the Army about favoritism. In 1859, President James Buchanan named Johnston's brother-in-law, Robert Milligan McLane , as minister to Mexico , and Johnston accompanied him on

8037-652: The Midtown at the Loop neighborhood, Murphy High School , Trinity Episcopal Church , Springhill Avenue Temple , and Mobile Infirmary Hospital before moving into the neighboring city of Prichard. The tornado was classified as an EF2 tornado by the National Weather Service on December 26. The path taken through the city was just a short distance east of the path taken days earlier, on December 20, by an EF1 tornado which had touched down near Davidson High School and taken

8178-488: The Mobile County School Board for being denied admission to Murphy High School . This was nearly a decade after the United States Supreme Court had ruled in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. The federal district court ordered that the three students be admitted to Murphy for the 1964 school year, leading to the desegregation of Mobile County's school system. The civil rights movement gained congressional passage of

8319-412: The North to such an extent that they might then have abandoned the contest and agreed to a settlement. Johnston was a part owner of the Atlantic and Mexican Gulf Canal Company , a canal project approved in 1876. It was intended to construct a canal westward from the St. Marys River in Georgia to connect with the Gulf of Mexico on the coast of Florida . Johnston moved from Savannah to Richmond in

8460-423: The U.S. Army's overwhelming numbers and heavy siege artillery and that McClellan's army was divided by the rain-swollen Chickahominy River , Johnston attacked south of the river on May 31 in the Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks. His plan was aggressive but too complicated for his subordinates to execute correctly, and he failed to ensure they understood his orders in detail or to supervise them closely. The battle

8601-523: The United States in 1813, with the annexation by President James Madison of West Florida from Spain. During the American Civil War , the city surrendered to Federal forces on April 12, 1865, after Union victories at two forts protecting the city. This, along with the news of Johnston 's surrender negotiations with Sherman , led General Richard Taylor to seek a meeting with his Union counterpart, Maj. Gen. Edward R. S. Canby . The two generals met several miles north of Mobile on May 2. After agreeing to

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8742-426: The United States, he entered the Confederate States Army as one of its most senior general officers . From 1888 to 1889 he was a vice president, from 1889 to 1890 president, of the Aztec Club of 1847 . Johnston was trained as a civil engineer at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York , graduating in the same class as Robert E. Lee . He served in Florida, Texas, and Kansas. By 1860 he achieved

8883-457: The Vicksburg Campaign: "Johnston evidently took in the situation, and wisely, I think, abstained from making an assault on us because it would simply have inflicted losses on both sides without accomplishing any result." Commenting on the Atlanta Campaign, Grant wrote, For my own part, I think that Johnston's tactics were right. Anything that could have prolonged the war a year beyond the time that it finally did close, would probably have exhausted

9024-422: The Western Theater, P.G.T. Beauregard, was making little progress against the advancing U.S. force. Political opponents of Jefferson Davis, such as Sen. Louis Wigfall , added to the pressure in Congress. Diarist Mary Chesnut wrote, "We thought this was a struggle for independence. Now it seems it is only a fight between Joe Johnston and Jeff Davis." In January 1865, the Congress passed a law authorizing Robert E. Lee

9165-405: The area, considered the new IDB as a serious rival. After several years of political squabbling, the Chamber of Commerce emerged victorious. While McNally's IDB prompted the Chamber of Commerce to become more proactive in attracting new industry, the chamber effectively shut Mobile city government out of economic development decisions. In 1963, three African-American students brought a case against

9306-511: The area. Mobile is located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is 168 miles (270 km) by highway southwest of Montgomery , the state capital; 58 miles (93 km) west of Pensacola, Florida ; and 144 miles (232 km) northeast of New Orleans . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 180.07 square miles (466.4 km ), with 139.48 square miles (361.3 km ) of it being land, and 40.59 square miles (105.1 km ), or 22.5% of

9447-503: The capital, Johnston's army withdrew to Greensboro . After learning of Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, Johnston agreed to meet with General Sherman between the lines at a small farm known as Bennett Place near present-day Durham, North Carolina . After three separate days (April 17, 18, and 26, 1865) of negotiations, Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee and all remaining Confederate forces still active in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It

9588-531: The city and to join forces with Johnston's troops, outnumbering Grant. Still, Davis had ordered Pemberton to defend the city as his highest priority. Grant launched two unsuccessful assaults against the fortifications and settled in for a siege. The soldiers and civilians in the surrounded city waited in vain for Johnston's small force to rescue them. By late May, Johnston had accumulated about 24,000 men but wanted additional reinforcements before moving forward. He considered ordering Bragg to send these reinforcements but

9729-433: The city from the west and north. Johnston had yielded over 110 miles of mountainous, and thus more easily defensible, territory in just two months, while the Confederate government became increasingly frustrated and alarmed. When Johnston retreated across the Chattahoochee River , the final significant barrier before Atlanta, President Davis lost his patience. In early July, Davis sent Gen. Braxton Bragg to Atlanta to assess

9870-525: The city streetcars. It legislated what had been informal practice, enforced by convention. Mobile's African-American population responded to this with a two-month boycott, but the law was not repealed. After this, Mobile's de facto segregation was increasingly replaced with legislated segregation as whites imposed Jim Crow laws to maintain supremacy . In 1911 the city adopted a commission form of government, which had three members elected by at-large voting. Considered to be progressive, as it would reduce

10011-431: The city suffered great loss when some three hundred people died as a result of an explosion at a federal ammunition depot on Beauregard Street. The explosion left a 30-foot (9 m) deep hole at the depot's location, and sank ships docked on the Mobile River; the resulting fires destroyed the northern portion of the city. Federal Reconstruction in Mobile began after the Civil War and effectively ended in 1874 when

10152-511: The city, beginning with the settlement as an important trading center between the French colonists and Native Americans , down to its current role as the 12th-largest port in the United States . Mobile was founded in 1702 by the French as the first capital of Louisiana . During its first 100 years, Mobile was a colony of France, then Great Britain , and lastly Spain . Mobile became a part of

10293-470: The colony fluctuated over the next few years, growing to 279 persons by 1708, yet shrinking to 178 persons two years later due to disease. These additional outbreaks of disease and a series of floods resulted in Bienville ordering in 1711 that the settlement be relocated several miles downriver to its present location at the confluence of the Mobile River and Mobile Bay . A new earth-and-palisade Fort Louis

10434-623: The command of Henry Lee III . His brother Charles Clement Johnston served as a U.S. congressman , and his nephew John Warfield Johnston was a U.S. senator ; both represented Virginia. In 1811, the Johnston family moved to Abingdon, Virginia , a town near the Tennessee border, where his father Peter built a home he named Panecillo. Johnston attended the United States Military Academy , nominated by John C. Calhoun in 1825 while he

10575-406: The commander of an army in the field." Vice President Alexander H. Stephens and 17 senators petitioned Lee to use his new authority to appoint Johnston, bypassing Davis, but the general in chief declined. Instead, he recommended the appointment to Davis. Despite his serious misgivings, Davis restored Johnston to active duty on February 25, 1865. His new command comprised two military departments:

10716-560: The commercial development of Mobile. In 1766 the total population was estimated to be 860, though the town's borders were smaller than during the French colonial period. During the American Revolutionary War , West Florida and Mobile became a refuge for loyalists fleeing the other colonies. While the British were dealing with their rebellious colonists along the Atlantic coast, the Spanish entered

10857-469: The company's fleet with gas and bunker fuel oil. In 2017, SEACOR Holdings acquired Waterman parent International Shipholding Corporation. In 2019, sister company Central Gulf Lines took the Waterman name. The former Waterman Steamship Corporation building on Saint Joseph Street remains a prominent building in the downtown Mobile skyline. It was sold to Darryl Smith of Hammond, LA in 2017. It opened in 1950 and

10998-440: The compliment with compound interest. His hatred of Jeff Davis amounts to a religion. With him it colors all things. —Diarist Mary Chesnut While Vicksburg was falling, U.S. Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans was advancing against Bragg in Tennessee, forcing him to evacuate Chattanooga . Bragg achieved a significant victory against Rosecrans in the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19–20), but Ulysses S. Grant defeated him in

11139-437: The corps commander, Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood , to halt his advance and reposition his troops to face the threat. Faced with this unexpected threat, Johnston abandoned his attack and renewed his retreat. On May 20, they again retreated 8 miles further south to Cartersville. The month of May 1864 ended with Sherman's forces attempting to move away from their railroad supply line with another turning movement, but became bogged down by

11280-451: The council than under the at-large system. Beginning in the late 1980s, newly elected mayor Mike Dow and the city council began an effort termed the "String of Pearls Initiative" to make Mobile into a competitive city. The city initiated construction of numerous new facilities and projects, and the restoration of hundreds of historic downtown buildings and homes. City and county leaders also made efforts to attract new business ventures to

11421-415: The daughter of Louis McLane and his wife. Her father was the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , a prominent politician ( congressman and senator from Delaware , minister to London , and a member of President Andrew Jackson 's cabinet). They had no children. Johnston was enthusiastic about the outbreak of the Mexican–American War . He served on the staff of Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott in

11562-460: The distribution of corn meal and flour to civilians throughout the South. This was an act of generosity that Johnston would never forget; he wrote to Sherman that his attitude "reconciles me to what I have previously regarded as the misfortune of my life, that of having you to encounter in the field." Johnston began to make a living for himself and his ailing wife. He became president of a small railroad,

11703-488: The end of hostilities, he reverted to his peacetime rank of captain in the topographical engineers.) Winfield Scott humorously remarked, "Johnston is a great soldier, but he had an unfortunate knack of getting himself shot in nearly every engagement." Johnston's greatest anguish during the war was the death of his nephew, Preston Johnston. When Robert E. Lee informed Johnston that a Mexican artillery shell had killed Preston at Contreras, both officers wept, and Johnston grieved for

11844-560: The fall of Richmond in April, Lee attempted to escape to North Carolina to join Johnston, but it was too late.) Recognizing that Sherman was moving quickly, Johnston planned to consolidate his small armies to land a blow against an isolated portion of Sherman's army, advancing in two separate columns. On March 19, 1865, Johnston was able to catch the left wing of Sherman's army by surprise at the Battle of Bentonville and briefly gained some tactical successes before superior numbers forced him to retreat to Raleigh, North Carolina . Unable to secure

11985-439: The field, but Bragg's wife was ill, and he was unable to travel. Furthermore, in early April, Johnston was forced to bed with lingering problems from his Peninsula wound, and the attention of the Confederates shifted from Tennessee to Mississippi, leaving Bragg in place. The major crisis facing Johnston was defending Confederate control of Vicksburg, Mississippi , which was threatened by U.S. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant , first in

12126-684: The founding of the French Mobile settlement, the Mobile tribe, along with the Tohomé, gained permission from the colonists to settle near the fort. The European settlement of Mobile began with French colonists, who in 1702 constructed Fort Louis de la Louisiane , at Twenty-seven Mile Bluff on the Mobile River , as the first capital of the French colony of La Louisiane . It was founded by French Canadian brothers Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville , to establish control over France's claims to La Louisiane . Bienville

12267-461: The general direction of Atlanta. Johnston saw the preservation of his army as the most crucial consideration and conducted a very cautious campaign. He handled his army well, slowing the U.S. advance and inflicting heavier losses than he sustained. Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign on May 4. Johnston's Army of Tennessee fought defensive battles against the Federals at the approaches to Dalton , which

12408-605: The last snowfall had been nearly four years earlier, on January 27, 2014. Mobile is occasionally affected by major tropical storms and hurricanes. The city suffered a major natural disaster on the night of September 12, 1979, when category-3 Hurricane Frederic passed over the heart of the city. The storm caused tremendous damage to Mobile and the surrounding area. Mobile had moderate damage from Hurricane Opal on October 4, 1995, and Hurricane Ivan on September 16, 2004. Mobile suffered millions of dollars in damage from Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, which damaged much of

12549-442: The late 1940s, the transition to the postwar economy was hard for the city, as thousands of jobs were lost at the shipyards with the decline in the defense industry. Eventually the city's social structure began to become more liberal. Replacing shipbuilding as a primary economic force, the paper and chemical industries began to expand. No longer needed for defense, most of the old military bases were converted to civilian uses. Following

12690-399: The local Democrats gained control of the city government. The last quarter of the 19th century was a time of economic depression and municipal insolvency for Mobile. One example can be provided by the value of Mobile's exports during this period of depression. The value of exports leaving the city fell from $ 9 million in 1878 to $ 3 million in 1882. The turn of the 20th century brought

12831-513: The magnanimity of the man to whom he surrendered. He would not allow criticism of Sherman in his presence. Sherman and Johnston corresponded frequently, and they met for friendly dinners in Washington, D.C. whenever Johnston traveled there. When Sherman died, Johnston served as an honorary pallbearer at his funeral. During the procession in New York City on February 19, 1891, he kept his hat off as

12972-531: The majority of public credit, Johnston's behind-the-scenes role was critical to the Confederate victory. After Bull Run, Johnston assisted Beauregard and William Porcher Miles in the design and production of the Confederate Battle Flag . It was Johnston's idea to make the flag square. It [the ranking of senior generals] seeks to tarnish my fair fame as a soldier and a man, earned by more than thirty years of laborious and perilous service. I had but this,

13113-560: The massive influx of workers coming to work in the shipyards and at the Brookley Army Air Field . Between 1940 and 1943, more than 89,000 people moved into Mobile to work for war effort industries. Mobile was one of eighteen United States cities producing Liberty ships . Its Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company (ADDSCO) supported the war effort by producing ships faster than the Axis powers could sink them. ADDSCO also churned out

13254-636: The men had not been paid for months; only about 6,600 traveled to South Carolina. Johnston also had available 12,000 men under William J. Hardee , who had been unsuccessfully attempting to resist Sherman's advance, Braxton Bragg 's force in Wilmington, North Carolina , and 6,000 cavalrymen under Wade Hampton . Johnston, severely outnumbered, hoped to combine his force with a detachment of Robert E. Lee's army from Virginia, jointly defeat Sherman, and then return to Virginia for an attack on Ulysses S. Grant. Lee initially refused to cooperate with this plan. (Following

13395-402: The men of my mother Virginia, my native South. —Johnston's letter to Jefferson Davis, September 12, 1861 In August, Johnston was promoted to full general —what is called a four-star general in the modern U.S. Army—but was not pleased that three other men he had outranked in the "old Army" now outranked him, even though Davis backdated his promotion to July 4. Johnston felt that, since he

13536-445: The men to reinforce the Confederate line. He consoled the despairing Brig. Gen. Barnard Bee and urged him to lead his men back into the fight. (General Bee's exhortation to his men inspired Stonewall Jackson's nickname.) Beauregard then convinced Johnston that he would be more valuable in organizing the arrival of reinforcements for the remainder of the battle than in providing at-the-front tactical leadership. Although Beauregard claimed

13677-399: The most important industries. During this time, social justice and race relations in Mobile worsened, however. The state passed a new constitution in 1901 that disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites ; and the white Democratic-dominated legislature passed other discriminatory legislation. In 1902, the city government passed Mobile's first racial segregation ordinance, segregating

13818-532: The power of ward bosses, this change resulted in the elite white majority strengthening its power, as only the majority could gain election of at-large candidates. In addition, poor whites and blacks had already been disenfranchised. Mobile was one of the last cities to retain this form of government, which prevented smaller groups from electing candidates of their choice. But Alabama's white yeomanry had historically favored single-member districts in order to elect candidates of their choice. The red imported fire ant

13959-447: The powers of general in chief, and recommending that Johnston be reinstated as the commander of the Army of Tennessee. Davis immediately appointed Lee to the position, but refused to restore Johnston. In a lengthy unpublished memo, Davis wrote, "My opinion of General Johnston's unfitness for command has ripened slowly and against my inclinations into a conviction so settled that it would be impossible for me again to feel confidence in him as

14100-509: The rank of brigadier general as Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army. Johnston's effectiveness in the American Civil War was undercut by tensions with Confederate president Jefferson Davis . Victory eluded him in most campaigns he personally commanded. He was the senior Confederate commander at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, but the victory is usually credited to his subordinate, P. G. T. Beauregard . Johnston defended

14241-608: The remainder of his life. Johnston was an engineer on the Texas-United States boundary survey in 1841; he returned to the area, was appointed chief topographical engineer of the Department of Texas and served from 1848 to 1853. During the 1850s, he sought his previous rank, sending letters to the War Department suggesting that he should be returned to a combat regiment with his wartime rank of colonel. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis , an acquaintance of Johnston's from West Point, rebuffed these suggestions, as he did later during

14382-401: The scars of many wounds, all honestly taken in my front and in the front of battle, and my father's Revolutionary sword. It was delivered to me from his venerated hand, without a stain of dishonor. Its blade is still unblemished as when it passed from his hand to mine. I drew it in the war, not for rank or fame, but to defend the sacred soil, the homes and hearths, the women and children; aye, and

14523-573: The shipyards, although the Roosevelt administration had ordered defense contractors to integrate facilities. That year ADDSCO promoted 12 blacks to positions as welders, previously reserved for whites; and whites objected to the change by rioting on May 24. The mayor appealed to the governor to call in the National Guard to restore order, but it was weeks before officials allowed African Americans to return to work, keeping them away for their safety. In

14664-449: The situation. After several meetings with local civilian leaders and Johnston's subordinates, Bragg returned to Richmond and urged President Davis to replace Johnston. Davis removed Johnston from command on July 17, 1864, just outside Atlanta. "The fate of Atlanta, from the Confederate standpoint, was all but decided by Johnston." His replacement, Lt. Gen. Hood, was left with the "virtually impossible situation" of defending Atlanta, which he

14805-400: The stock of Waterman Steamship Corporation from the stockholders. From its single-ship beginnings, Waterman had amassed a fleet of 125 ships, owned and operated its own shipbuilding and repair yards, owned or controlled three other shipping companies and employed thousands of workers. The company maintained about 40 years of business relationship with Exxon Corporation, which exclusively supplied

14946-471: The tip of the Virginia Peninsula, began to move slowly toward Yorktown . Johnston's plan for the defense of the Confederate capital was controversial. Knowing that his army was half the size of McClellan's and that the U.S. Navy could directly support McClellan from either river, Johnston attempted to convince Davis and Lee that the best course would be to concentrate on fortifications around Richmond. He

15087-536: The tornado into Midtown , causing damage or destruction to at least 100 structures. The heaviest damage to houses was along Carlen Street, Rickarby Place, Dauphin Street, Old Shell Road , Margaret Street, Silverwood Street, and Springhill Avenue. The tornado caused significant damage to the Carmelite Monastery, Little Flower Catholic Church, commercial real estate along Airport Boulevard and Government Street in

15228-590: The total, being covered by water. The elevation in Mobile ranges from 10 feet (3 m) on Water Street in downtown to 211 feet (64 m) at the Mobile Regional Airport. Mobile has a number of notable historic neighborhoods. These include Ashland Place , Campground , Church Street East , De Tonti Square , Leinkauf , Lower Dauphin Street , Midtown , Oakleigh Garden , Old Dauphin Way , Spring Hill , and Toulminville . Mobile's geographical location on

15369-532: The upland plantation areas, but many households had domestic slaves, and many other slaves worked on the waterfront and on riverboats. The last slaves to enter the United States from the African trade were brought to Mobile on the slave ship Clotilda . Among them was Cudjoe Lewis , who in the 1920s became the last survivor of the slave trade. By 1853, fifty Jewish families lived in Mobile, including Philip Phillips , an attorney from Charleston, South Carolina , who

15510-468: The vicinity of the Mobile River , and its main tributaries the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers . A plantation economy using slave labor developed in the region and as a consequence Mobile's population quickly grew. It came to be settled by attorneys, cotton factors , doctors, merchants and other professionals seeking to capitalize on trade with the upriver areas. From the 1830s onward, Mobile expanded into

15651-404: The war in 1779 as an ally of France. They took the opportunity to order Bernardo de Galvez , Governor of Louisiana, on an expedition east to retake West Florida. He captured Mobile during the Battle of Fort Charlotte in 1780, as part of this campaign. The Spanish wished to eliminate any British threat to their Louisiana colony west of the Mississippi River, which they had received from France in

15792-580: The war, in which many African Americans had served, veterans and their supporters stepped up activism to gain enforcement of their constitutional rights and social justice, especially in the Jim Crow South. During the 1950s the City of Mobile integrated its police force and Spring Hill College accepted students of all races. Unlike in the rest of the state, by the early 1960s the city buses and lunch counters voluntarily desegregated. The Alabama legislature passed

15933-400: The west was the fate of Braxton Bragg. The Confederate government was displeased with Bragg's performance at the Battle of Stones River , as were many of Bragg's senior subordinates. Jefferson Davis ordered Johnston to visit Bragg and determine whether he should be replaced. Johnston realized that if he recommended Bragg's replacement, he would be the logical choice to succeed him. He considered

16074-401: The whole of Mobile County, including the city, consisted of 29,754 citizens, of which 1,195 were free people of color . Additionally, 1,785 slave owners in the county held 11,376 people in bondage, about one-quarter of the total county population of 41,130 people. During the American Civil War , Mobile was a Confederate city. The H. L. Hunley , the first submarine to sink an enemy ship,

16215-485: The winter of 1876–77. The former Confederate general was considered for service in President Rutherford B. Hayes 's Cabinet, particularly for the post of Secretary of War, but was ultimately not chosen. He served in the 46th Congress from 1879 to 1881 as a Democratic congressman , having been elected with 58.11% of the vote over Greenback candidate William W. Newman. He did not run for reelection in 1880. He

16356-468: Was Secretary of War . He was moderately successful in academics and received only a small number of disciplinary demerits. He graduated in 1829, ranking 13th of 46 cadets, and was appointed a second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery. He would become the first West Point graduate to be promoted to a general officer in the regular army , reaching a higher rank in the U.S. Army than did his 1829 classmate, Robert E. Lee (2nd of 46). Johnston resigned from

16497-435: Was Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company, and within four years had a network of more than 120 agents across the deep South. The income from this venture allowed him to devote time to his great post-war activity, writing his memoirs, as did several fellow officers. His Narrative of Military Operations (1874) was highly critical of Davis and many of his fellow generals. He repeated his grievance about his ranking as

16638-462: Was accused of doing. When his native state, Virginia, declared secession from the United States in 1861, Johnston resigned his commission as a brigadier general in the regular army , the highest-ranking U.S. Army officer to do so. He would go on to state, "I believed like most others, that the division of the country would be permanent; and that ... the revolution begun was justified by the maxims so often repeated by Americans, that Free government

16779-623: Was appointed as a commissioner of railroads in the administration of President Grover Cleveland . After his wife died in 1887, Johnston frequently traveled to veterans' gatherings, where he was universally cheered. In September 1890, a few months before he died, he was elected as an honorary member of the District of Columbia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and was assigned national membership number 1963. Johnston, like Lee, never forgot

16920-428: Was appointed as royal governor of French Louisiana in 1701. Mobile's Roman Catholic parish was established on July 20, 1703, by Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier , Bishop of Quebec . The parish was the first French Catholic parish established on the Gulf Coast of the United States . In 1704, the ship Pélican delivered 23 Frenchwomen to the colony; passengers had contracted yellow fever at

17061-474: Was built in Mobile. One of the most famous naval engagements of the war was the Battle of Mobile Bay , resulting in the Union taking control of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. On April 12, 1865, three days after Robert E. Lee 's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse , the city surrendered to the Union army to avoid destruction after Union victories at nearby Spanish Fort and Fort Blakeley . On May 25, 1865,

17202-639: Was challenged and finally overturned in 1982 in City of Mobile v. Bolden , which was remanded by the United States Supreme Court to the district court. Finding that the city had adopted a commission form of government in 1911 and at-large positions with discriminatory intent, the court proposed that the three members of the city commission should be elected from single-member districts , likely ending their division of executive functions among them. Mobile's state legislative delegation in 1985 finally enacted

17343-425: Was concerned that this could result in the loss of Tennessee. He also bickered with President Davis about whether the order sending him to Mississippi could be construed as removing him from theater command; historian Steven E. Woodworth judges that Johnston "willfully misconstrued" his orders out of resentment of Davis's interference. Pemberton's army surrendered on July 4, 1863. Along with the capture of Port Hudson

17484-472: Was constructed at the new site during this time. By 1712, when Antoine Crozat was appointed to take over administration of the colony, its population had reached 400 persons. The capital of La Louisiane was moved in 1720 to Biloxi , leaving Mobile to serve as a regional military and trading center. In 1723 the construction of a new brick fort with a stone foundation began and it was renamed Fort Condé in honor of Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon . In 1763,

17625-524: Was developed with wharves, terminal facilities, and fireproof brick warehouses. The exports of cotton grew in proportion to the amounts being produced in the Black Belt ; by 1840 Mobile was second only to New Orleans in cotton exports in the nation. With the economy so focused on one crop, Mobile's fortunes were always tied to those of cotton, and the city weathered many financial crises. Mobile slaveholders owned relatively few slaves compared to planters in

17766-700: Was elected to the Alabama State Legislature and then to the United States Congress. Many early Jewish families were descendants of Sephardic Jews who had been among the earliest colonial settlers in Charleston and Savannah. By 1860 Mobile's population within the city limits had reached 29,258 people; it was the 27th-largest city in the United States and 4th-largest in what would soon be the Confederate States of America . The free population in

17907-406: Was evacuated on May 13, then retreated 12 miles south to Resaca and constructed defensive positions. However, after a brief battle , Johnston again yielded to Sherman and retreated from Resaca on May 15. Johnston assembled the Confederate forces for an attack at Cassville . As his troops advanced, an enemy force of unknown strength appeared unexpectedly on his right flank. A skirmish ensued, forcing

18048-502: Was first introduced into the United States via the Port of Mobile. Sometime in the late 1930s they came ashore off cargo ships arriving from South America. The ants were carried in the soil used as ballast on those ships. They have spread throughout the South and Southwest. During World War II , the defense buildup in Mobile shipyards resulted in a considerable increase in the city's white middle-class and working-class population, largely due to

18189-565: Was forced to abandon in September. Davis's decision to remove Johnston was one of the most controversial of the war. Johnston traveled to Columbia, South Carolina , to begin a virtual retirement. However, as the Confederacy became increasingly concerned about Sherman's March to the Sea across Georgia and then north through the Carolinas , the public clamored for Johnston's return. The general in charge of

18330-500: Was from New York City , which was deeply involved in the cotton industry. Mobile was the slave-trading center of the state until the 1850s, when it was surpassed by Montgomery . The prosperity stimulated a building boom that was underway by the mid-1830s, with the building of some of the most elaborate structures the city had seen up to that point. This was cut short in part by the Panic of 1837 and yellow fever epidemics. The waterfront

18471-435: Was often not aware of what was going on) all contributed to this defeat. Davis considered firing Johnston, but he remained a popular officer and had many political allies in Richmond, most notably Sen. Louis Wigfall . Instead, Bragg's army was removed from Johnston's command, leaving him in control of only Alabama and Mississippi. The President detests Joe Johnston for all the trouble he has given him, and General Joe returns

18612-573: Was seized by United States General James Wilkinson during the War of 1812 . By the time Mobile was included in the Mississippi Territory in 1813, the population had dwindled to roughly 300 people. The city was included in the Alabama Territory in 1817, after Mississippi gained statehood. Alabama was granted statehood in 1819; Mobile's population had increased to 809 by that time. Mobile

18753-505: Was still unclear about his U.S. opponent's direction in the battle, Johnston decided that the critical point was to the north of his headquarters (the Lewis house, "Portici"), at Henry House Hill. He abruptly announced, "The battle is there. I am going." Beauregard and the staffs of both generals followed his lead and rode off. Johnston encountered a scattered unit, the 4th Alabama, whose field-grade officers had all been killed, and personally rallied

18894-452: Was surprised and disappointed by the unannounced move, which he considered a "precipitate retreat." At about this time, Davis moved to restrict Johnston's authority by bringing Robert E. Lee to Richmond as his military adviser. He began issuing direct orders to some of the forces under Johnston's ostensible command. On the Northern side, McClellan was publicly embarrassed when it was revealed that

19035-447: Was tactically inconclusive, but it stopped McClellan's advance on the city and would be the high-water mark of his invasion. More significant, however, was that Johnston was wounded in his shoulder and chest by an artillery shell fragment near the end of the first day of the battle. G.W. Smith commanded the army during the second day of the battle before Davis quickly turned over command to the more aggressive Robert E. Lee, who would lead

19176-547: Was the Trans-Mississippi Department, commanded by Lt. Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes , stationed principally in Arkansas. Johnston argued throughout his tenure that Holmes's command should be combined with Pemberton's under Johnston's control, or at least to reinforce Pemberton with troops from Holmes's command, but he was unable to convince the government to take either of these steps.) The first issue facing Johnston in

19317-416: Was the largest surrender of the war, totaling 89,270 soldiers. President Davis considered that Johnston, surrendering so many troops that had not been explicitly defeated in battle, had committed an act of treason. Johnston was paroled on May 2 at Greensboro. After the surrender, Sherman issued ten days' rations to the hungry Confederate soldiers as well as horses and mules to "insure a crop." He also ordered

19458-407: Was the senior officer to leave the U.S. Army and join the Confederacy, he should not be ranked behind Samuel Cooper , Albert Sidney Johnston, and Robert E. Lee. Only Beauregard was placed behind Johnston on the list of five new generals. This led to much bad blood between Johnston and Jefferson Davis, lasting throughout the war. The crux of Davis's counterargument was that Johnston's U.S. commission as

19599-406: Was to blame for Vicksburg. That Johnston never wanted this theater command in the first place, difficulty in effectively moving troops due to lack of direct rail lines and the vast distances involved, lack of assistance from subordinate commanders, Pemberton's refusal to abandon Vicksburg as suggested, and President Davis' habit of communicating directly to Johnston's subordinates (which meant Johnston

19740-441: Was unsuccessful in persuading them and deployed most of his force on the Peninsula. Following lengthy siege preparations by McClellan at Yorktown, Johnston withdrew and fought a sharp defensive fight at Williamsburg (May 5) and turned back an attempt at an amphibious turning movement at Eltham's Landing (May 7). By late May, the U.S. Army was within six miles of Richmond. Realizing that he could not defend Richmond forever from

19881-552: Was well situated for trade, as its location tied it to a river system that served as the principal navigational access for most of Alabama and a large part of Mississippi. River transportation was aided by the introduction of steamboats in the early decades of the 19th century. By 1822, the city's population had risen to 2,800. The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain created shortages of cotton, driving up prices on world markets. Much land well suited to growing cotton lies in

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