The American War of Sucession – 1861-1862 {Illustrated Edition]: Bull Run to Malvern Hill

SPECIAL CAMPAIGN SERIES. NO. 11

THE

WAR OF SECESSION

1861-1862

BULL RUN TO MALVERN HILL

BY

MAJOR G. W. REDWAY

AUTHOR OF FREDERICKSBURG: A STUDY IN WAR

WITH MAPS REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF

THE WAR OFFICE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A.

 This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING

Text originally published in 1910 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2011, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

PREFACE

The difficulty that besets a writer on the American Civil War, the war of the States, is the wealth of material—of first-hand evidence—that has recently become available. Whatever problem of defence may be under discussion, whatever point of detail is being investigated, a number of well-founded opinions embedded in voluminous statements present themselves for consideration: and every phase and aspect of military operations have been illustrated by elaborate reports, accurate maps, plans and sketches. It is evident that the labour of a lifetime were needed to acquire and digest all this information; and the result is to deter the casual inquirer from delivering final judgment on any matter in dispute and make him especially chary of assigning reasons for actions and causes for events. Certain general impressions, however, will remain as the result of a few years' study of the War Records, and such impressions the present writer has endeavoured to set forth in the belief that most of the latter day problems of defence were practically solved by the events of 1861-1862; and notably those in connection with an obsolete army system that still endures in all English-speaking countries.

The author has ventured upon a slight innovation in the arrangement of his material which he believes will facilitate study. The opening chapters present some broad views of the War of Secession, exhibiting its purposes and general tendencies, the machinery available under given geographical and political conditions, and indicating certain ideals and principles of action by which the belligerents were guided. The remainder of the volume is devoted to a survey of such phases of the campaigns of the first year of the war as are conceived to possess a living interest, and illustrate the theory of war taught today, without hampering the narrative with irrelevant detail, dubious assumptions or merely picturesque biography.

G. W. R.

MAPS

(In Pocket at end of Volume)

I. Strategical Map of the Eastern Theatre of War. II.

II. Battle of Young's Branch (Bull Run)

III. Valley of Virginia, from Staunton to Winchester:

IV. Yorktown to Williamsburg.

V. Battlefield of Mechanicsville and Cold Harbour.

VI. Battlegrounds about Richmond.

VII. Operations of Stuart's Cavalry Brigade.

VIII. Position of the Army of the Potomac at Harrison's Landing.

IX. Battle of Belmont (Mo.).

X. Country between the Tennessee and the Cumberland.

XI. Battle of Shiloh.

Contents

PREFACE 4

MAPS 5

CHAPTER I 16

GEOGRAPHY AND POLITICS 16

ORIGIN OF THE WAR—JOHN BROWN'S RAID—INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN—BOMBARDMENT OF FORT SUMTER—RECOGNITION OF BELLIGERENCY—THE THEATRE OF WAR—RAILWAY SYSTEMS—INLAND WATERWAYS—THE ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS—THE EASTERN SHORE—THE BALTIMORE RIOTS—WASHINGTON IN DANGER—DEFECTION OF NAVAL AND MILITARY OFFICERS. 16

CHAPTER II 25

THE ARMY SYSTEM 25

STANDING ARMIES AND LOCAL MILITIA—VOLUNTEERS AND REGULARS—CONSCRIPTS AND THEIR SUBSTITUTES—THE CASE AGAINST UNIVERSAL SERVICE—COST OF IMPROVISED FORCES—RECRUITING AREAS OF THE RIVAL ARMIES—THE OFFICERS—WEST POINT AND THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE. 25

CHAPTER III 33

POLICY AND STRATEGY 33

FUNCTIONS OF MODERN GENERALS IN THE FIELD—MCDOWELL AND MCCLELLAN—FREDERICK AND NAPOLEON—A NEW CONCEPTION OF STRATEGY—ARMIES CONTROLLED BY PRESIDENTS—SELECTION OF OBJECTIVES—THE NEED OF CONCENTRATION—THE TRUE CHARACTER OF DEFENSIVE WAR—INDISCIPLINE OF GENERAL OFFICERS—SCHEMES OF WINFIELD SCOTT AND MCCLELLAN—SECONDARY OPERATIONS ARMIES—MOBILISED ON THE FRONTIERS—OPERATION OF MARTIAL LAW—PRESIDENT DAVIS'S THEORY OF WAR—ANGULAR FRONTIERS AND OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS. 33

CHAPTER IV 47

THE COMMAND OF THE SEAS 47

THE VALUE OF SEA POWER—NAVAL BLOCKADES—IRONCLADS AND COAST DEFENCES—THE USE OF NAVIGABLE RIVERS—LANDING EXPEDITIONS—THE YORKTOWN CAMPAIGN AND THE LOSS OF THE MERRIMAO. 47

CHAPTER V 51

ORGANISATION 51

GENERAL MCCLELLAN AS ORGANISER—THE FIGHTING TROOPS—FORMATIONS—CAVALRY RESERVE AND ARTILLERY RESERVE—ARMS AND EQUIPMENT—THE WESTERN ARMIES—THE INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT—TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEERS—A SIGNAL CORPS—INTER-COMMUNICATION—FIELD TELEGRAPHY—FIELD ENGINEERS—BRIDGING OPERATIONS—TRANSPORT AND SUPPLIES—THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT—MEDICAL SERVICE AND SANITARY DISCIPLINE. 51

CHAPTER VI 63

TACTICS 63

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN WAR—FACTORS OF SUCCESS—INFLUENCE OF NUMBERS—ATTACK versus DEFENCE—GRAND TACTICS AND MINOR TACTICS—FIGHTING METHODS OF THE PERIOD—BULL RUN AND COLD HARBOUR —CAVALRY, ARTILLERY AND INFANTRY—LACK OF GOOD LEADERS—THE REMEDY APPLIED BY AMERICAN SOLDIERS. 63

CHAPTER VII 73

OPERATIONS IN 1861 73

RÉSUMÉ OF ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY COMBATS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, VIRGINIA, MARYLAND, MISSOURI, WEST VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA, NEW MEXICO, KENTUCKY, FLORIDA, TEXAS, ARKANSAS AND TENNESSEE. 73

CHAPTER VIII 80

THE CAMPAIGN IN WEST VIRGINIA 80

THE NORTH WEST FRONTIER OF VIRGINIA—A FEDERAL BASE ON THE OHIO RIVER—GEOGRAPHY AND POLITICS—CHARACTERISTICS OF MOUNTAIN WARFARE—LINES OF OPERATION—MCCLELLAN AND GARNETT—ROSECRANS AND LEE—THE PARKERSBURG TURNPIKE AND GAULEY RIVER—DIFFICULTIES WITH SUBORDINATES—ABORTIVE COUNTER-STROKES—DISSOLUTION OF THE ARMIES. 80

CHAPTER IX 89

THE BULL RUN CAMPAIGN 89

THE MILITARY SITUATION—HARPER'S FERRY—PATTERSON AND JOSEPH JOHNSTON IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY—BEAUREGARD AND MCDOWELL AT MANASSAS—THE BULL RUN DEFENCES—BEAUREGARD'S FIRST PLAN—JOHNSTON'S FLANK MOVEMENT—MCDOWELL'S MARCH RECONNAISSANCE AND ATTACK—BEAUREGARD'S SECOND PLAN—HIS THIRD PLAN—THE USE OF RESERVES—PATTERSON AND BEAUREGARD—BOTH FAIL TO PURSUE—END OF THE SEVEN DAYS' CAMPAIGN—THE AFFAIR OF BALL'S BLUFF IN WINTER QUARTERS. 89

CHAPTER X 100

THE VALLEY CAMPAIGN 100

THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY—WINTER OPERATIONS ON THE UPPER POTOMAC—THE SPRING CAMPAIGN OPENS—JACKSON'S MISSION—LINCOLN AND BANKS—THE COMBAT AT KERNS TOWN (WINCHESTER)—THE ADVANCE OF GENERAL BANKS—COMPLAINT BY THE INHABITANTS—JACKSON'S DEFENCE OF SETLINGTON'S HILL (MCDOWELL)—THE SURPRISE OF FRONT ROYAL—COMBAT AT WINCHESTER—MCDOWELL MARCHES TO THE VALLEY—FRÉMONT'S PURSUIT OF JACKSON—COMBAT AT CROSS KEYS—FRÉMONT'S DILEMMA—COMBAT AT PORT REPUBLIC—THE CONDUCT OF JAMES SHIELDS—JACKSON MARCHES TO THE PENINSULA. 100

CHAPTER XI 130

CAMPAIGN ON THE YORKTOWN PENINSULA 130

THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC AT FORT MONROE—MCCLELLAN'S PLANS—EVACUATION OF YORKTOWN BY THE CONFEDERATES—THE BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURG—MCCLELLAN ON THE DEFENSIVE—FAIR OAKS AND SEVEN PINES—GENERAL LEE ASSUMES COMMAND—THE SEVEN DAYS' BATTLES—EFFECTS OF LEE'S COUNTER STROKE—GENERAL MCCLELLAN'S CHARACTERISTICS—DIARY OF ENGAGEMENTS—CAUSES OF LEE'S FAILURE—CAVALRY OPERATIONS ON THE PENINSULA 130

CHAPTER XII 159

OPERATIONS IN THE WEST 159

APPENDIX A 167

[Confidential]— Special Order No 28 Headquarters Valley Mountain, Sept 8 1861 167

APPENDIX B 169

Mountain Department, Headquarters in the Field, Harrisonburg, Va., June 8, 1862. 169

APPENDIX C 171

General Lee's Operation Orders — General Orders, No 75 Hdqrs. Army of Northern Virginia June 24, 1862. 171

APPENDIX D 173

Summary Of The Forces Engaged During The Seven Days' Battles 173

Federals 173

CONFEDERATES 173

MAPS 175

I – CAMPAIGN AND BATTLE MAPS - 1861 175

Charleston Harbor, Bombardment of Fort Sumter – 12th & 13th April 1861 175

1st Bull Run Campaign – Theatre Overview July 1861 176

Bull Run – 21st July 1861 177

1st Bull Run Campaign – Situation 18th July 1861 178

1st Bull Run Campaign – Situation 21st July 1861 (Morning) 179

1st Bull Run Campaign - 21st July 1861 Actions 1-3 p.m. 180

1st Bull Run Campaign - 21st July 1861 Union Retreat 4 P.M. to Dusk 181

II – CAMPAIGN AND BATTLE MAPS - 1862 182

Battle of Mill Springs – 19th January 1862 (6-8.30 A.M.) Confederate Attacks 182

Battle of Mill Springs – 19th January 1862 (9 A.M.) Union Attacks 183

Forts Henry and Donelson – 6th to 16th February 1862 184

Battle of Fort Donelson – 14th February 1862 185

Battle of Fort Donelson – 15th February 1862 Morning 186

Battle of Fort Donelson – 15th February 1862 Morning 187

New Madrid and Island No. 10 – March 1862 188

Pea Ridge – 5th to 8th March 1862 189

First Battle of Kernstown – 23rd March 1862, 11 – 16:45 190

Shiloh (or Pittsburg Landing) - 6th & 7th April 1862 191

Battle of Shiloh – 6th April 1862 - Morning 192

Battle of Shiloh – 6th April 1862 – P.M. 193

Battle of Yorktown – 5th to 16th April 1862 194

Jackson’s Valley Campaign – 24th to 25th May 1862 - Actions 195

Williamsburg – 5th May 1862 196

Fair Oaks – 31st May to 1st June 1862 197

Battle of Seven Pines – 31st May 1862 198

Seven Days – 26th June to 2nd July 1862 199

Seven Days Battles – 25th June to 1st July 1862 - Overview 200

Seven Days Battles – 26th & 27th June 1862 201

Seven Days Battles – 30th June 1862 202

Seven Days Battles – 1st July 1862 203

Battle of Gaines Mill – 27th June 1862 2.30 P.M. Hill’s Attacks 204

Battle of Gaines Mill – 27th June 1862 3.30 P.M. Ewell’s Attacks 205

Battle of Gaines Mill – 27th June 1862 7 P.M. General Confederate Attacks 206

Pope’s Campaign - 24th August 1862 207

Pope’s Campaign - 28th August 1862 A.M. 208

Pope’s Campaign - 28th August 1862 6 P.M. 209

Second Battle of Bull Run – 28th August 1862 210

Second Battle of Bull Run – 29th August 1862 10 A.M. 211

Second Battle of Bull Run – 29th August 1862 12 P.M. 212

Second Battle of Bull Run – 29th August 1862 5 P.M. 213

Pope’s Campaign – 29th August 1862 Noon. 214

Second Battle of Bull Run – 30th August 1862 3 P.M. 215

Second Battle of Bull Run – 30th August 1862 4.30 P.M. 216

Second Battle of Bull Run – 30th August 1862 5 P.M. 217

Battle of Harpers Ferry – 15th September 1862 218

Antietam – 16th & 17th September 1862 219

Battle of Antietam – 17th September 1862 Overview 220

Battle of Antietam – 17th September 1862 6 A.M. 221

Battle of Antietam – 17th September 1862 7.30 A.M. 222

Battle of Antietam – 17th September 1862 9 A.M. 223

Battle of Antietam – 17th September 1862 10 A.M. 224

Iuka – 19th September 1862 225

Battle of Iuka – 19th September 1862 226

Corinth – 3rd & 4th October 1862 227

Second Battle of Corinth – 3rd October 1862 228

Second Battle of Corinth – 4th October 1862 229

Perryville – 8th October 1862 230

Battle of Perryville – 8th October 1862 – 2 P.M. 231

Battle of Perryville – 8th October 1862 – 3 P.M. 232

Battle of Perryville – 8th October 1862 – 3.45 P.M. 233

Battle of Perryville – 8th October 1862 – 4 P.M. 234

Battle of Perryville – 8th October 1862 – 4.15 P.M. 235

Battle of Perryville – 8th October 1862 – 5.45 P.M. 236

Fredericksburg – 13th December 1862 237

Battle of Fredericksburg – 13th December 1862 Overview 238

Battle of Fredericksburg – 13th December 1862 Sumner’s Assault 239

Battle of Fredericksburg – 13th December 1862 Hooker’s Assault 240

Battle of Chickasaw Bayou – 26th to 29th December 1862 241

Stone’s River – 31st December 1862 242

Battle of Stones River – 30th December 1862 243

Battle of Stones River – 31st December 1862 – 8.00 A.M. 244

Battle of Stones River – 31st December 1862 – 9.45 A.M. 245

Battle of Stones River – 31st December 1862 – 11.00 A.M. 246

III – CAMPAIGN AND BATTLE MAPS - 1863 247

Battle of Stones River – 2nd January 1863 – 4 P.M. 247

Battle of Stones River – 2nd January 1863 – 4 P.M. 248

Battle of Stones River – 2nd January 1863 – 4.45 P.M. 249

Chancellorsville Campaign (Hooker’s Plan) – April 1863 250

Battle of Chancellorsville – 1st May 1863 Actions 251

Battle of Chancellorsville – 2nd May 1863 Actions 252

Chancellorsville – 2nd May 1863 253

Chancellorsville – 3rd to 5th May 1863 254

Battle of Chancellorsville – 3rd May 1863 Actions 6 A.M. 255

Battle of Chancellorsville – 3rd May 1863 Actions 10 A.M. – 5 P.M. 256

Battle of Chancellorsville – 4th to 6th May 1863. 257

Battle of Brandy Station – 8th June 1863 258

Siege of Vicksburg – 25th May to 4th July 1863 259

Siege of Vicksburg – 19th May 1863 - Assaults 260

Siege of Vicksburg – 22nd May 1863 - Assaults 261

Gettysburg – 1st July 1863 262

Battle of Gettysburg – 1st July 1863 Overview 263

Battle of Gettysburg – 1st July 1863 7 A.M. 264

Battle of Gettysburg – 1st July 1863 10 A.M. 265

Battle of Gettysburg – 1st July 1863 10.45 A.M. 266

Battle of Gettysburg – 1st July 1863 11 A.M. 267

Battle of Gettysburg – 1st July 1863 12.30 P.M. 268

Battle of Gettysburg – 1st July 1863 2 P.M. 269

Gettysburg – 2nd to 4th July 1863 270

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Lee’s Plan 271

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Overview 272

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Cemetary Ridge A.M. 273

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Culp’s Hill – Initial Defence 274

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Culp’s Hill – Evening attacks 275

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Hood’s Assaults 276

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Peach Orchard Initial Assaults 277

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Peach Orchard and Cemetary Ridge 278

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Wheatfield – Initial Assaults 279

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Wheatfield – Second Phase 280

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Cemetery Hill Evening 281

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Little Round Top (1) 282

Battle of Gettysburg – 2nd July 1863 Little Round Top (2) 283

Battle of Gettysburg – 3rd July 1863 Overview 284

Battle of Gettysburg – 3rd July 1863 – Pickett’s Charge 285

Battle of Gettysburg – 3rd July 1863 – Pickett’s Charge Detail 286

Battle of Gettysburg – 3rd July 1863 Culp’s Hill – Johnson’s Third Attack 287

Battle of Gettysburg – 3rd July 1863 East Cavalry Field – Opening Positions 288

Battle of Gettysburg – 3rd July 1863 East Cavalry Field – First Phase 289

Battle of Gettysburg – 3rd July 1863 East Cavalry Field – Second Phase 290

Battle of Gettysburg – 3rd July 1863 South Cavalry Field 291

Battle of Gettysburg – Battlefield Overview 292

Fight at Monterey Pass – 4th to 5th July 1863 293

Chickamauga – 19th & 20th September 1863 294

Chickamauga Campaign – Davis’s Crossroads – 11th September 1863 295

Chickamauga Campaign – 18th September 1863 After Dark 296

Battle of Chickamauga – 19th September 1863 Morning 297

Battle of Chickamauga – 19th September 1863 Early Afternoon 298

Battle of Chickamauga – 19th September 1863 Early Afternoon 299

Battle of Chickamauga – 20th September 1863 9 A.M. to 11 A.M. 300

Battle of Chickamauga – 20th September 1863 11 A.M. to Mid-Afternoon 301

Battle of Chickamauga – 20th September 1863 Mid-Afternoon to Dark 302

Battle of Chickamauga – 20th September 1863 Brigade Details 303

Chattanooga – 23rd to 25th November 1863 304

Chattanooga Campaign – 24th & 25th November 1863 305

Chattanooga Campaign – Federal Supply Lines and Wheeler’s Raid 306

Battle of Missionary Ridge – 25th November 1863 307

Mine Run – 26th to 30th November 1863 308

IV – CAMPAIGN AND BATTLE MAPS - 1864 309

Siege of Petersburg – Actions 29th to 31st March 1864 309

Wilderness – 5th & 6th May 1864 310

Battle of the Wilderness – 5th May 1864 – Positions 7 A.M. 311

Battle of the Wilderness – 5th May 1864 - Actions 312

Battle of the Wilderness – 6th May 1864 – Actions 5 A.M. 313

Battle of the Wilderness – 6th May 1864 – Actions 6 A.M. 314

Battle of the Wilderness – 6th May 1864 – Actions 11 A.M. 315

Battle of the Wilderness – 6th May 1864 – Actions 2 P.M. 316

Spotsylvania – 8th to 21st May 1864 317

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House – 7th & 8th May 1864 - Movements 318

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House – 8th May 1864 - Actions 319

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House – 9th May 1864 - Actions 320

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House – 10th May 1864 - Actions 321

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House – 12th May 1864 - Actions 322

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House – 13th May 1864 - Actions 323

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House – 17th May 1864 - Actions 324

North Anna – 23rd to 26th May 1864 325

Battle of North Anna – 23rd May 1864 326

Battle of North Anna – 24th May 1864 327

Battle of North Anna – 25th May 1864 328

Battle of Haw’s Shop – 28th May 1864 329

Battle of Bethseda Church (1) – 30th May 1864 330

Battle of Bethseda Church (2) – 30th May 1864 331

Cold Harbor – 31st May to 12th June 1864 332

Battle of Cold Harbor – 1st June 1864 333

Battle of Cold Harbor – 3rd June 1864 334

Pickett’s Mills and New Hope Church – 25th to 27th May 1864 335

Battle of Kennesaw Mountain – 27th June 1864 336

Siege of Petersburg – Actions 15th to 18th June 1864 337

Siege of Petersburg – Actions 21st to 22nd June 1864 338

Siege of Petersburg – Actions 30th July 1864 339

Wilson-Kautz Raid – 22nd June to 1st July 1864 340

First Battle of Deep Bottom – 27th to 29th July 1864 341

Second Battle of Deep Bottom – 14th to 20th August 1864 342

Siege of Petersburg – Actions 18th to 19th August 1864 343

Opequon, or Winchester, Va. – 19th September 1864 344

Fisher’s Hill – 22nd September 1864 345

Siege of Petersburg – Actions 27th October 1864 346

Cedar Creek – 19th October 1864 347

Battle of Cedar Creek – 19th October 1864 5-9 A.M. Confederate Attacks 348

Battle of Spring Hill – 29th November 1864 – Afternoon 349

Battle of Spring Hill – 29th November 1864 – Evening 350

Battle of Cedar Creek – 19th October 1864 4-5 P.M. Union Counterattack 351

Franklin – 30th November 1864 352

Battle of Franklin – Hood’s Approach 30th November 1864 353

Battle of Franklin – 30th November 1864 Actions after 4.30 P.M. 354

Nashville – 15th & 16th December 1864 355

V – OVERVIEWS 356

1 – Map of the States that Succeeded – 1860-1861 356

Fort Henry Campaign – February 1862 357

Forts Henry and Donelson – February 1862 358

Jackson’s Valley Campaign – 23rd March to 8th May 1862 359

Peninsula Campaign – 17th March to 31st May 1862 360

Jackson’s Valley Campaign – 21st May to 9th June 1862 361

Northern Virginia Campaign – 7th to 28th August 1862 362

Maryland Campaign – September 1862 363

Iuka-Corinth Campaign – First Phase – 10th to 19th September 1862 364

Iuka-Corinth Campaign – Second Phase – 20th September – 3rd October 1862 365

Fredericksburg Campaign – Movements mid-November to 10th December 1862 366

Memphis to Vicksburg – 1862-1863 367

Operations Against Vicksburg and Grant’s Bayou Operations – November 1862 to April 1863 368

Campaign Against Vicksburg – 1863 369

Grant’s Operations Against Vicksburg – April to July 1863 370

Knoxville Campaign - 1863 371

Tullahoma Campaign – 24th June – 3rd July 1863 372

Rosecrans’ Manoeuvre – 20th August to 17th September 1963 374

Bristoe Campaign – 9th October to 9th November 1863 375

Mine Run Campaign – 27th November 1863 – 2nd December 1863 376

Grant’s Overland Campaign – Wilderness to North Anna - 1864 377

Grant’s Overland Campaign – May to June 1864 378

Overland Campaign – 4th  May 1864 379

Overland Campaign – 27th to 29th May 1864 380

Overland Campaign –29th to 30th May 1864 381

Overland Campaign – 1st June 1864 – Afternoon 382

Sheridan’s Richmond Raid – 9th to 14th May 1864 383

Sheridan’s Trevilian Station Raid – 7th to 10th June 1864 384

Sheridan’s Trevilian Station Raid – 7th to 10th June 1864 385

Battle of Trevilian Station Raid – 11th June 1864 386

Battle of Trevilian Station Raid – 12th June 1864 387

Shenandoah Valley Campaign – May to July 1864 388

Operations about Marietta – 14th to 28th June 1864 389

Atlanta Campaign – 7th May to 2nd July 1864 390

Operations about Atlanta – 17th July to 2nd September 1864 391

Richmond-Petersburg Campaign – Position Fall 1864 392

Shenandoah Valley Campaign – 20th August – October 1864 393

Sherman’s March to the Sea 394

Franklin-Nashville Campaign – 21st to 28th November 1864 395

Operations about Petersburg – June 1864 to April 1865 396

Carolinas Campaign – February to April 1865 397

Appomattox Campaign - 1865 398

CHAPTER I

GEOGRAPHY AND POLITICS

ORIGIN OF THE WAR—JOHN BROWN'S RAID—INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN—BOMBARDMENT OF FORT SUMTER—RECOGNITION OF BELLIGERENCY—THE THEATRE OF WAR—RAILWAY SYSTEMS—INLAND WATERWAYS—THE ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS—THE EASTERN SHORE—THE BALTIMORE RIOTS—WASHINGTON IN DANGER—DEFECTION OF NAVAL AND MILITARY OFFICERS.

To the philosophic historian it were a grateful task to expatiate on the points of resemblance and of difference between the American War of Secession and those great popular struggles under Cromwell and Washington in which the standing armies of Charles I. and George III. were worsted by a nation in arms; or the reconquest of Oude in 1857, or the various oversea expeditions which culminated in the extinction of the South African republics at the beginning of the present century: but for the purposes of this work it must suffice to correct one misapprehension, which is due to the official designation of the four years' contest by the successful belligerent as the War of the Rebellion.

The hostilities which commenced in 1861 were not caused by a popular insurrection; there was no Jack Cade nor Duke of Monmouth in the case; nor was there a revolt of colonies against the mother country such as tore Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas from the hold of Great Britain in the previous century. Every State that seceded had proceeded regularly—exercising the right it possessed to legislate for itself—to pass an Ordinance of Secession: and its defence was primarily entrusted to a militia which the State laws had called into being and State funds had supported. There was good ground for the belief that the sovereignty of each State had not been impaired when it voluntarily joined the Union and by the terms of the alliance entrusted its foreign interests to a central government and a President elected by vote; and thus the seizure of forts and arsenals within State territory in 1861 amounted to no more than the recovery of a freehold site on behalf of its legal owner.

It was however natural that President Lincoln should express these things differently, just as George Washington sometime a colonial officer serving George III. afterwards asserted the equality of man and the right of British colonies to political independence as sovereign States; but the necessity President Lincoln was under to prevent foreign aid reaching the South fully defined the actual situation in 1861; for his blockade of the coast showed that a state of war existed and his proclamation to neutrals drew from European powers a Recognition of Belligerency which impartially embraced both sides. The idea of rebellion or of mutiny was further precluded by his acceptance of the resignation of their commissions by Southern officers in the United States navy and army, and by demanding from Great Britain ten years later a large indemnity for an alleged violation of neutrality in permitting British subjects to furnish the enemy with vessels to be used as cruisers.

An influential party in the North upheld in 1861 this view of the secession movement: even in New York public opinion as reflected in The Tribune declared that whenever any considerable section of our Union shall deliberately resolve to go out we shall resist all coercive measures to keep them in, and it was partly on this understanding that the Southern States determined to establish a Confederacy: but they counted too on the necessities of Northern manufacturers and of Great Britain and Europe, who all needed the produce of the cotton States, proving an ultimate solvent of any serious difficulties that might arise.

The Confederacy, however, in expecting moral support in Western Europe overlooked one important factor in the case, and that was the steady growth for eighty years of a sentiment antagonistic to slaveholding. Europe was at one with the North in its repugnance to becoming slave hunters for the South, to use General Grant's expression.

Though Great Britain and France had emancipated the slaves in their colonies during the first half of the nineteenth century the States and peoples of America, which had preached the doctrine that all men are created equal, had persistently denied to a person of African descent those unalienable rights set forth in the Declaration of Independence, namely life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and even so late as 1856 the Supreme Court in America had decided that a man and his family could lawfully be bought or sold, and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and traffic, on the sole ground that his ancestor had been imported into America as a slave: moreover, it was held that such persons even if set free by their owners could never claim any of the rights of a citizen.

This deliberately weighed judgment in the Dred Scott case added fuel to the flame that had been lighted in 1852, when the publication in America of a romance called Uncle Tom's Cabin awakened the conscience of the continent where slavery had been hallowed by the practice of George Washington himself; and now the slave-breeding section was looked at askance and fugitive servants from the Southern were offered asylum in the Northern States. The abolitionist party increased in numbers and activity and actually organised a raid within the borders of Virginia, and when this enterprise resulted in the hanging of John Brown by the Virginia State authorities the Boston Liberator went so far as to I say that to be hanged in Virginia is like being crucified in Jerusalem: it is the last tribute that sin pays to virtue. Little wonder that the Southern and Border States regarded the raid on Virginia in 1859 in much the same light as the Boers viewed the Jameson raid in 1895.

The plain truth is that the Union itself