VII. War Beginnings

Part I

A. First Rumblings of War

• Everyone believed that it would be a 90 day war

• CSA had time on their side (Why?)• Union was feeling pressure to attack (Why?)• The first battle was a battle of amateurs

– Inexperience caused everything to go wrong

• The first battle would serve as a great awakening for the entire nation

• Ended the dream of a short, glorious, and bloodless war

B. The Participants• Union Army

– General Irvin McDowell– 35, 000 men– Union believed they

could march straight to Richmond and end the war quickly

– Union would have to march through Manassas Junction to get there

• CSA Army– General PGT

Beauregard– 22,000 men– Defending a strategic

road & rail junction– Beauregard knew the

Union was coming• Possessed good

intelligence in Washington DC

C. Winchester, VA• Key element in the defense of Manassas

– 12,000 men under General Joseph E. Johnston– 18,000 men under Major General Robert Patterson

• Patterson’s job was to keep Johnston from reinforcing Beauregard

• Beauregard ordered Johnston to reinforce Manassas without Patterson knowing

• Johnston moved forward making Patterson believe he was about to attack

• Patterson prepared defenses for the oncoming assault

• Under the cover of a cavalry screen by General J.E.B. Stuart, Johnston loads his men in rail cars and heads for Manassas

D. Problems Marching to Manassas

• Began July 16, 1861

• On July 18- they were still 6 miles out

• Lack of training and discipline hindered the march south– The was due to civilians in the military– Men would tire and stop to rest– They would break rank to gather berries– They did not know the discipline of the regular

army

Washington DC

Richmond

Manassas

E. First Battle of Manassas(Bull Run)

1) General Tyler performs an artillery feint @ 6 am

2) Union forces attempt to flank the CSA left @ Sudley Springs

3) CSA reorganizes and sets up defenses on Matthew’s Hill

4) Col. William T. Sherman flanks the CSA by fording Bull Run Creek

5) CSA defensive line holds firm led by Gen. Thomas J. Jackson on Henry House Hill- Jackson will earn the nickname “Stonewall”

6) At a critical moment, Cpt. Rickets mistakes blue clad CSA for Union Soldiers and his battery is overrun

7) Gen. Joseph E. Johnston arrives by rail with reinforcements from Winchester, VA at 4pm

8) Col. Jubal A. Early flanks the remaining Union forces causing them to retreat

9) The federal retreat becomes a rout when an overturned carriage blocks the Cub Run Bridge

Captain’s Report

• Gen. Irvin McDowell

• 35,000

• 2,645 casualties

• Gen. PGT Beauregard & Gen. Joseph E. Johnston

• 32,000

• 1,981 casualties

G. Aftermath of Bull Run• Wilmur McClean had the distinction of having the

war begin in his front yard and end in his front parlor

• Soldiers on both sides were awakened to a bloody conflict

• Before another campaign could happen, a real army needed to be assembled & trained

• George B. McClellan is given command of the Army of the Potomac– Organization– Training– Discipline

• McClellan was too cautious

• He applied himself to the creation of an army made up of volunteer regiments who signed 3-year papers– No more 90 day vets

• Nov. 1861: General Winfield Scott resigns due to failing health & age

• McClellan is appointed by Lincoln General-in-Chief of the Union Forces– “Little Napoleon”– “I can do it all”

H. Real Warfare Begins• Union Command in the

West– General Fremont was

initially in charge, but proved to be incompetent

– He managed two things• The creation of

gunboats• Appointing Gen.

Ulysses S. Grant in charge at Cairo, MS

• CSA Command in the West– General Leonidas Polk

commanded the west but was quickly replaced

– General Albert Sydney Johnston took command of all western activities

I. Road to Shiloh• CSA strategy in the west was to protect the areas

between the Appalachian Mts. and the Mississippi River.– Not enough men to accomplish this

• Union is struggling with command– Gen. Fremont is replaced by Henry Halleck– Halleck is in charge of the west up to the Cumberland

Gap– Gen. Don Carlos Buell was in charge of everything east

of the Cumberland Gap & Kentucky (also in the west)

• Union chain of command was based on equality• CSA chain of command was based on territory

J. Attacking the Forts• Feb. 1862: Halleck orders Grant to move on Ft.

Henry on the Tennessee River• Halleck ordered a flotilla of gunboats, under the

command of Andrew Foote, to accompany Grant• Ft. Henry was surprisingly weak & Foote’s

gunboats leveled the fort with ease• Grant then turned his attention to Ft. Donelson, 11

miles away on the Cumberland River• Ft. Donelson was a lot tougher• Johnston reinforced Donelson with 15,000 men• Johnston took the rest of his men to secure Nashville

• Donelson held for three days but Grant and the gunboats proved to be too much for the fort

• Ft. Donelson was commanded by Generals Floyd and Pillow

• Floyd & Pillow planned to break out of the fort to join Johnston at Nashville

• The initial attack catches the Union off guard and the CSA inflict 2,800 casualties

• Floyd & Pillow get cold feet and retreat back inside the fort and choose to surrender– Nathan Bedford Forrest refused to surrender and escaped

the fort with his cavalry to Nashville

• Floyd and Pillow give command over the General Simon Buckner (a personal friend of Grant’s)– Floyd & Pillow declared themselves too valuable to be

caught so they escaped by boat that night

• Buckner asked his friend for surrender terms and was shocked when he heard “unconditional surrender”

• Grant had asked for complete a total surrender which was unheard of– He gains the nickname “Unconditional Surrender” Grant

• Buckner was forced to surrender on Feb 16– 12,000 men, 65 cannons, 20,000 rifles, and 4,000 horses

• Johnston had no choice but to evacuate Nashville, leaving it in Union hands

• Beauregard, who had been unhappy in Virginia, was transferred to the West to be Johnston’s 2nd in command

• They met in Corinth, MS

K. Moving to Shiloh• To end the confusion, Halleck was promoted to

overall command in the west• Grant was promoted to Maj. General and Halleck

orders him to move up the TN River with his 45,000• Halleck also sends Buell down from Nashville to

meet Grant’s forces• Grant situated his men on the TN River at Pittsburgh

Landing– Most were camped near Shiloh Church, 20 miles from

Corinth, MS

• Johnston’s only hope was a sneak attack before Buell arrived to reinforce Grant

L. Battle of Shiloh• 1and 2) CSA strike at dawn overrunning the ill-

prepared encampments of Brig. Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss and Brig. Gen. William T. Sherman

• 3 and 4) Some units from Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand’s division join with units from Sherman’s to form a makeshift defensive line. They hold their position for several hours on Woolfe Field before falling back to River Road

• 5) CSA advances on the Union left were wasted due to confusion in the ranks of Bragg & Breckinridge. General Albert S. Johnston comes to direct the soldiers personally. While leading, Johnston is shot behind the left knee. He refuses treatment and bleeds to death. PGT Beauregard assumes command.

• 6) Precious time is bought as Gen. Prentiss and his men stage a daring defensive stand at a sunken road known as the Hornet’s Nest. Prentiss holds for 6 hours buying precious time for the Union– WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?

• 7) When the CSA breaks the Hornet’s Nest, they realize that Grant has established a defensive line with cannons.

• 8) Grant is backed by the gunboats Tyler & Lexington- the CSA charge is repulsed and day 1 ends

• 9) Gen. Don Carlos Buell arrives with 25,000 fresh soldiers to reinforce Grant

• 10) Gen. Lew Wallace arrives on the field after being lost for most of the first day. He adds 10,000 soldiers

• 11) Grant launches an all-out assault on the CSA position regaining all of the land lost the previous day. CSA retreats all the way to Corinth, MS

Shiloh Church

ASJ memorial

Grant’s Line

Pittsburgh Landing

Hornet’s Nest

M. Captain’s Report• Ulysses S. Grant

• 63,000

• 13,047 Casualties

• Albert S. Johnston PGT. Beauregard

• 40,000

• 10,694 Casualties

N. War Back East• McClellan was moving with extreme caution

• He was distrusted by Republicans, especially Sec. of War Edwin Stanton– Some people saw McClellan as a traitor for his inaction

• Lincoln finally removes McClellan as General-in-Chief and limits him to command of the Army of the Potomac

• McClellan was ordered to march on Richmond, but he declined and proposed an alternate plan– He would take his men at Ft. Monroe by steamboat and

advance up the peninsula to Richmond- having rivers on either side protecting his flanks

• Lincoln & Stanton reluctantly agreed only because it was the first sign of action from McClellan

• McClellan was going to leave Washington without leaving men behind to protect the capitol. Lincoln requested soldiers, but McClellan left very few– Lincoln then pulled McDowell’s Corps from McClellan

to see to the defense of Washington

• Lincoln also created a separate army specifically for the Shenandoah Valley– Lincoln placed Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks in charge

of this army– McClellan would have 90,000 men instead of his original

130,000 he anticipated

O. Peninsula Campaign• McClellan arrives and moves into Yorktown- facing

him was Gen. John B. Magruder with 15,000 CSA• Magruder knew he was vastly outnumbered so he

had a regiment of men march up & down the same hill in a circle making his force to appear larger than it really was

• McClellan surmised that Magruder had at least 100,000 men- McClellan began immediately setting up elaborate defenses which would take him a month to complete

• On May 4, McClellan readied for his attack only to discover that the CSA had already evacuated

• These tactics would be used until Richmond

P. Shenandoah Valley• The Shenandoah Valley was the lifeline for the CSA

• It provided food such as grain, beef, and fruit to feed the soldiers

• Its all-weather roads and railroads made travel quick & easy

• It was seen as the gateway between Tennessee and Virginia (the two major theatres of the war)

• 30 miles wide (Allegheny to Blue Ridge Mts.)

• 160 miles long (Lexington to Harper’s Ferry)

• The valley was vital to the survival of the CSA

Q. Shenandoah Valley Campaign• The CSA took advantage of Lincoln’s sensitivity to

DC’s safety• The CSA sent Stonewall Jackson into the Valley

with 8,000 men with two goals in mind– Preserve CSA control of the valley– Tie down Banks and prevent him from reinforcing

McClellan

• Banks had 38,000 men & his job was to push Jackson out of the Valley and then rejoin McClellan

• Banks thought he had accomplished that and left only one division under Brig. Gen. Shields to occupy Winchester

• Jackson marched his men 50 miles in two days to Winchester to pursue Shields

• Jackson suffers a defeat at Winchester & relieves Gen. Richard Garnett from command for retreating and causing the loss

• The CSA did manage to keep Banks in the Valley with their presence therefore keeping Banks from reinforcing McClellan

• Davis’ military advisor chose to reinforce Jackson– Why?– Who was the military advisor?

• Reinforcing Jackson meant the Union had to reinforce Banks instead of McClellan

• Jackson was reinforced with Brig. Gen. Richard S. Ewell and 9,000 men- Jackson now commanded 17,000 men

• Jackson left Ewell with a small force to watch Banks while he took the remaining soldiers & disappeared– Jackson loaded his men on a train and left the valley– Banks believed Jackson had left– Jackson then looped the train back into the valley and

defeats Fremont, then reunites with Ewell

• Jackson swept down the valley deceiving Banks of his whereabouts & defeating his army parts at a time

• Jackson broke Banks’ supply line & Banks was forced to leave the valley- The valley was cleared

• 1) Jackson is tactically defeated at Kernerstown- Mar. 23– Forces Union to maintain a strong presence in the valley

• 2) Jackson followed with victories at McDowell- May 8

• 3) Front Royal- May 23

• 4) Winchester- May 25

• 5) Cross Keys- June 8

• 6) Port Republic- June 9

R. The Peninsula Campaign Continues• The Battle of Seven Pines proved to be a hard

fought, two day standoff

• General Joseph Johnston was seriously wounded in the battle

• The CSA turns to a new commander in the east- Robert E. Lee take control of the Army of Northern Virginia

• Due to the success of the valley campaign, McClellan’s army lay on both sides of the Chickahominy River with less strength than expected

• McClellan had 106,000 men with 25,000 on the other side of the river

• Lee’s army was reinforced to 92,000

• Lee left approximately 30,000 men to guard Richmond and took 62,000 to the north side of the river and hit the exposed Union left flank

S. Seven Days Battle• Mechanicsville- June 26, 1862

– 1&2) Brig Gen. McCall’s division repels frontal assaults by Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill’s division

– 3) Jackson is supposed to attack the Union right flank, but he is lost in the woods and suffering from illness- Union withdraw that night

• Gaines Mill- June 27, 1862

– 1&2) Union V Corps repel a series of frontal assaults that afternoon

– 3&4) Follow-up attacks on the Union right by Brig. Gen. D.H. Hill and Ewell fail

– 5) at 5:30pm, Brig. Gen. John Bell Hood’s Texas brigade breaks the Union center

– 6) Hood’s men held against a mounted counterattack and capture the position

– 7) Union retreats across the Chickahominy River

• Frayser’s Farm- June 30, 1862

– 1) Lee attacks the Union V Corps with 2 divisions at a critical road junction

– 2) The attack is repulsed by the Union

– 3) A flank attack by Jackson is not carried out

– 4) This allowed the Union to escape on Quaker Road

• Malvern Hill- July 1, 1862

– 1&2) In a series of attacks, Lee’s men are blasted by Union artillery

– 3) The attacks were aided by Union gunboats

– 4) McClellan retreats to Harrison Landing

W. Captain’s Report• General George B.

McClellan

• 115,000 men

• 15,849 casualties

• General Robert E. Lee

• 85,000 men

• 17,136 casualties

• CSA Victory

X. Battle of New Orleans• April 1862, Adm. David G. Farragut

– 24 warships– 19 mortar boats– 15,000 men

• Farragut overran Ft. Jackson and Ft. St. Phillips

• He occupied the city running the CSA out of New Orleans

• The CSA now controlled the Mississippi River only from Baton Rouge to Vicksburg & they lost a major port

Y. Ironclads• Merrimack

– Resurfaced after being scuttled earlier in the war– Rebuilt in ironclad fashion– Top speed was 9 knots– 10 cannons, took 30-40 minutes to turn– Recomissioned the CSS Virginia

• USS Monitor– John Erikson– Most of the hull was underwater– Pointed at both ends, flat rotating cylinder– Two 11 inch guns

CSS Virginia

USS Monitor

Z. Hampton Roads• March 8, 1862: CSS Virginia goes hunting

– Three boats run aground trying to get out of its way– USS Cumberland was rammed and sunk– USS Congress was destroyed by fire

• March 9, 1862: Monitor v. Virginia– Early morning sees the Virginia charging the USS

Minnesota– Monitor fires at point blank range– Both fire on each other causing little to no damage– Both suffer from mechanical failures – The Monitor’s pilot house is hit & loses control– Virginia thinks it has won & leaves as Monitor returns to

the fight- both sides proclaim victory