[1862 A.D.] be false. The latter was not again taken into action, and when Norfolk was abandoned a few months later she was burned by the Confederates." THE BATTLE OF SHILOH [General Grant, immediately after the fall of Donelson, prepared to ascend the Tennessee river and break the new Confederate line of defence along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.] On arriving at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee river, some twenty miles from Corinth, he occupied a very strong position on the left bank, intending to hold it until the arrival of General Buell with his army from Nashville. After the junction of the two armies, amounting to more than seventy thousand men, it was intended to move in overwhelming force on Corinth. When Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston learned of Grant's presence at Pittsburg Landing with no more than forty thousand men, he decided to advance suddenly and surprise him, in the hope of winning a victory before Buell's arrival. Circumstances so delayed the operation that Buell's advance division had arrived at Savannah, only nine miles below Pittsburg Landing, on the evening before the attack was made. There has been much discussion as to whether Grant was really surprised on the Sunday morning, April 6th, 1862, when the Confederates charged upon his camp. It is perfectly clear that he was not aware of the presence of Johnston's force in his neighbourhood, and did not expect any attack to be made before the middle of the week. When the firing began on Sunday morning Grant was nine miles distant at Savannah. The division of Lew Wallace, seven thousand men, was at Crump's Landing, five miles below the scene of the battle. The position at Pittsburg Landing, where the principal command was exercised by generals McClernand and Sherman, was a strong one, protected on three sides by creeks, which were swollen with backwater from the great river. The open front towards the southwest, marked by a rude meeting-house known as Shiloh church, ought to have been protected by earthworks; this precaution, however, had been neglected. Johnston's plan was to attack by his right flank and cut off the Union army from Pittsburg Landing, which would involve its destruction or capture; but his attack was not correctly planned for that purpose. His force was not sufficiently massed upon his right, and his main blow was directed too near the Federal centre. The attack was conducted with magnificent gallantry, but the resistance of the Federal troops was very obstinate, and although their organisation was much impaired it was with great slowness that they were pushed back. About the middle of the forenoon the Union generals, Benjamin Prentiss, S. A. Hurlbut, and W. H. L. Wallace, secured a difficult position, since known as the Hornets' Nest, and maintained it until late in the afternoon despite all the efforts of the Confederates. Early in the afternoon, while assaulting this position, Johnston was killed, and the command devolved upon General Beauregard. [Here too fell W. H. L. Wallace. The Union forces were steadily driven back toward the Landing; in one of the movements General Prentiss and part of his command were cut off and captured. Nightfall alone brought a cessation of hostilities. At the end of the first day's fighting the victory was undoubtedly with the Confederates.] Lew Wallace's division had been greatly delayed in its march by imperfect information, and Nelson's division of Buell's army had been equally delayed by the detestable spring roads; but at nightfall both these divisions arrived upon the battlefield, adding fifteen thousand fresh men to the Union force; and so many steamboats had now been collected at Savannah that two more [1862 A.D.] of Buell's divisions were comfortably brought up the river during the night. It was evident that Beauregard's battle on Monday was fought, not so much in the hope of victory as in order to secure an unmolested retreat. This he accomplished. In the afternoon he withdrew his army with much skill, leaving the Federals too weary to pursue. In this great battle more than twenty thousand men were killed and wounded, and the Federals lost besides three thousand prisoners. It was an important victory for the Federals, inasmuch as it decided the fate of Corinth; but those who blamed Grant for the surprise were perhaps quite as many as those who praised him for the victory.m Ropes, probably the most brilliant military historian of the war, in criticising Grant's movements after the battle, says: "There was no reason why Grant should not promptly and unremittingly have followed up his beaten antagonist. It was a case where the enemy were in full retreat, and that too, after having lost very heavily in one battle, and been defeated in the second. But Grant did not act at all. He utterly failed to seize the opportunity. And no better opportunity than this was ever presented to a Federal general during the war." a 1 FARRAGUT AT NEW ORLEANS (1862) 1 The blockade at New Orleans had been peculiarly difficult to keep intact, and several privateers, as well as many merchantmen, had been able to break through. Among these the ram Manassas steamed down the river, and made a sudden diversion among the blockading squadron; but it was of short duration, and quite without result. Towards the close of the year Ship Island, near New Orleans, had been occupied by Union troops. General Benjamin F. Butler had charge of this department, but had brought nothing to a head. Admiral David G. Farragut, with David D. Porter second in command, reached the place in the early spring of 1862 to see what could be done. The capture of New Orleans would not only exert a very depressing effect upon the Confederates, but the city would also serve as a base for operations up the Mississippi, in connection with those already moving down. The approaches to New Orleans by the main channel were held by two strong works, forts Jackson and St. Philip, and the river was patrolled by a flotilla. Farragut moored his mortar-boats below the forts, back of a bend in the river, and for six days bombarded Fort Jackson; but, impatient to secure the city, he determined to try the experiment of running his fleet past the forts, and thus to isolate them. This was a feat never before attempted and of questionable result. But, to the utter astonishment of the Confederates, it was successfully accomplished, and the next day Farragut took possession of New Orleans, evacuated by General Mansfield Lovell on his approach (April 25th). Porter shortly afterwards received the surrender of the forts-it is claimed on account of a mutiny of the garrison of Fort Jackson-and they were duly occupied. Butler then took possession of the city with his troops. It must be said in praise of Butler that in provost-marshal work, such as he was called upon to perform in New Orleans, he showed remarkable capacity. The city was never healthier or in finer condition than under his régime. There was, however, just complaint against him in matters connected with [Reprinted by permission of Houghton, Mifflin and Company. Copyright, 1897, by Theodore A. Dodge.] [1862 A.D.] trade; nor did he make the least attempt to mix suavity of method with strength of action in his government of the city. THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN After his defeat at Bull Run General McDowell, as we have seen, was superseded in the command of the Army of the Potomac by General George B. McClellan. McClellan, who was almost unsurpassed as a military organiser, spent the succeeding months to good advantage in constructing a real army out of the disorganised, untrained mass of volunteers he found at his disposal. On November 1st, 1861, General Winfield Scott, who had up to this time retained nominal command of the armies of the United States, was retired, and McClellan was made commander-in-chief. Shortly before this (October 21st) the two opposing armies had unintentionally met in a fierce battle at Ball's Bluff on the Potomac above Washington, in which the Union forces were defeated with considerable loss, including their gallant commander, Colonel E. D. Baker, United States senator from Oregon. This engagement was the result of an isolated operation, however, and not of a forward movement. So also was the battle of Drainesville, a Union victory in December. Throughout the North now began a demand for an advance, but all through the winter McClellan's troops remained inactive in their quarters. It was not until well into March, 1862, that McClellan, his command now again restricted to the Army of the Potomac, began a movement which he had long had in mind. This was the transfer of his army of one hundred and twenty thousand men to Fortress Monroe on the peninsula formed by the James and York rivers, which was accomplished in the three weeks beginning March 17th. From Fortress Monroe McClellan advanced toward Richmond, his objective point, as far as Yorktown, where he found his way blocked by a Confederate army of eleven thousand under General Magruder. At this moment McClellan learned that President Lincoln had detached McDowell's corps from his army and detained it to ensure the defence of Washington. This action of the president McClellan always declared to be responsible for his subsequent failure. Without attempting to carry the works by assault-a step which a more energetic general would at least have tried-McClellan settled down to a siege, wasted a month erecting elaborate intrenchments and batteries, only to find when he was at last ready to open fire (May 3rd) that Magruder had slipped away toward Richmond. A pursuit was at once ordered, and at Williamsburg Longstreet was found awaiting them (May 5th). A spirited assault was successfully resisted during the day, with a loss of some 2,200 to the Union forces and 600 to the Confederates. The Confederates withdrew under cover of night, and McClellan leisurely continued his advance up the Peninsula, arriving at the Chickahominy May 21st. It was during this interval that events occurred in the Shenandoah Valley that for a time placed McClellan's peninsular operations in jeopardy. Two small armies had been left in that locality under Banks and Frémont respectively. It had been planned to have these two forces join to crush the Ĉonfederate forces of "Stonewall" Jackson, by whom they were opposed. But this brilliant strategist, whose force had been increased to twenty thousand, completely frustrated their designs, and by a brilliant manoeuvre defeated Banks at Winchester on May 25th and advanced so close to Washington as to fill that city with consternation. McDowell was then sent to drive him [1862 A.D.] away, but again evading a conflict, Jackson proceeded south and joined the main Confederate army near Richmond. Before Jackson had effected this junction, however, McClellan had fought and won a bloody two days' battle at Fair Oaks (May 31st-June 1st). This conflict had been precipitated by Johnston, who had taken advantage of a mistake of McClellan in dividing his army, and had fallen upon the two corps of Heintzelman and Keyes which had crossed the Chickahominy. These two generals resisted stubbornly against heavy odds and superior numbers, but were slowly pressed back. Defeat seemed certain when General E. V. Sumner, who with his corps had crossed the swollen Chickahominy on bridges of his own construction, arrived on the scene of battle at the critical moment. Sumner's spirited attack threw Johnston's forces into confusion, the latter commander himself being seriously wounded. The battle was renewed the next morning, but the Confederates soon gave up the fight and withdrew from the field. The losses were heavy, aggregating five thousand for the Union and six thousand for the Confederate forces. McClellan made no attempt to follow up this victory-having an apparently good excuse in his inability to transfer the rest of his army across the river. The battle, therefore, though one of the bloodiest thus far fought, was really only important in the improvement it effected in the morale of the Federal army. McClellan again took up his careful advance on the Confederate capital, and by June 25th he had reached a point only four miles from Richmond, the church spires of which could be seen in the distance. THE SEVEN DAYS' BATTLE BEFORE RICHMOND General Johnston's wound at Fair Oaks incapacitated him from continuing as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, and he was therefore succeeded by Gen. Robert E. Lee. The change was a happy one, for it gave to this brilliant soldier the opportunity to prove the remarkable powers as a strategist and organiser which have placed him in the front rank of generals of all ages. During the month following Fair Oaks, while McClellan remained inactive within sight of Richmond, Lee made every effort to strengthen his defence, and succeeded in gathering together an army of some ninety thousand. At last, toward the end of June, McClellan was ready to move forward with his hundred thousand men. The first fight the first of the seven days' battles was fought at Mechanicsville, June 26th, 1862, where Lee's forces, being divided, suffered a sharp defeat. On the following day took place the much fiercer battle of Gaines' Mill. In this engagement Fitz-John Porter, commanding McClellan's right, consisting of some thirty thousand troops, sustained for hours a furious attack of almost twice as many Confederates, retiring across the Chickahominy at nightfall after each side had lost upward of seven thousand, almost three thousand of Porter's casualties consisting, however, of captured. Although Lee retained possession of the field, his losses were out of all proportion to the value of his success. At this juncture McClellan might have easily swung his main army around upon Richmond had he not been misled into believing Lee's forces twice their actual strength. But he had other plans, and by the morning of the 28th his army was under way to take up a new base to the left on the James river. McClellan had cleverly deceived both Lee and Jackson, who had expected him to retire the way he had come and had made their preparations accordingly. By the 29th Lee realised his mistake and made haste to attack the [1862 A.D.] retreating Federal army, but was twice repulsed by their rear-guard at Savage's Station and Allen's Farm. On June 30th the Confederates made a more general attack all along the line at Glendale or Frazier's Farm, but were again checked with great loss. That night McClellan concentrated his entire force on Malvern Hill, where on the next day the last and most severe of the seven days' battle was fought. The battle lasted all day, but the determined Confederate assaults were all successfully resisted. The result was a complete Union victory, the loss to their forces aggregating some 1,600 in killed and wounded, while the Confederate loss was over 5,000. The seven days' fighting had resulted in a loss of 15,849 killed, wounded, and missing to the Army of the Potomac, and 20,135 to the Army of Northern Virginia. "Nevertheless," says Ropes, "the moral and political effect of the whole series of movements and battles was entirely to the advantage of the Confederates. Facts are stubborn things; and there was no denying that McClellan had been forced to give up his position on the Chickahominy, where he was within sight of the steeples of Richmond, and to retire, followed-pursued, in fact -by his enemies to the river James, to a point twenty or thirty miles from the Confederate capital. The abrupt change of the part played by the Federal general from the rôle of the invader to that of the retreating and pursued enemy was too dramatic not to arrest general attention." POPE'S VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN (1862) In the last days of June, 1862, while McClellan was still struggling on the peninsula, the commands of McDowell, Banks, and Frémont were consolidated under the name of the Army of Virginia and placed under the command of General John Pope, who had won prominence by his victory at Island Number 10. On July 11th, General Halleck was called to Washington and made commander-in-chief of all the land forces of the United States. Pope early in August prepared to make an aggressive campaign into Virginia, his army having now been reinforced by part of McClellan's force. Lee, meanwhile, relieved of immediate fear of McClellan, had despatched "Stonewall" Jackson again to the North to face Pope. The first encounter between the hostile forces took place at Cedar Mountain, where Jackson repulsed a furious attack made by half as large a force under Banks (August 9th). By August 25th McClellan's army had left the peninsula and Porter's and Heintzelman's corps were now acting with Pope. Lee also had moved northward with most of his army to support Jackson, and thenceforth Pope was on the defensive. Meanwhile skirmishes and small engagements were taking place daily. J. E. B. Stuart in of one his daring raids completely circled the Union army, and Jackson captured the Union stores at Manassas. On August 29th took place the sanguinary battle of Groveton. General Hooker under Pope's orders made the first attack on Jackson, not aware of the fact that he had already been strongly reinforced by Longstreet. Porter, whom Pope had ordered to turn Jackson's flank, was prevented from such a movement by the necessity of holding Longstreet in check. Fighting was resumed next morning (August 30th), and from the fact that the second day's battle took place on exactly the same ground upon which McDowell was defeated in July, 1861, it has been called the second battle of Bull Run. Porter, McDowell, and Heintzelman advanced to the attack but were repulsed with great loss, and a counter attack of Longstreet gradually forced Pope's army back upon Centreville. On September 1st, the third day of continuous fighting, Pope withdrew toward Washington, fighting en route |