University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XXIV

THE FIRST MOVEMENT AGAINST RICHMOND

Events that will be Recorded. — The military operations
in the Civil War were on a very extensive scale. The
struggle was prosecuted vigorously on both sides, not only
in Virginia, but also in the South and West. In this short
history, only a brief account of the leading military operations
that took place in Virginia can be given.

"On to Richmond!" — On May 21, the capital of the
Southern Confederacy was moved from Montgomery, Alabama,
to Richmond; and at once in the North the cry
of "On to Richmond!" was raised. The formation of
Federal armies for the invasion of Virginia went on at
different points. One gathered at Washington under
General Scott, with General McDowell in immediate command,
a second at Chambersburg under General Patterson,
a third in West Virginia under General McClellan, and
a fourth at Fortress Monroe under General Butler. To
capture Richmond and bring the war to a speedy end
was the plan of the Federals.

Preparations for Defense. — The Confederates collected
troops for the protection of Virginia, and able plans for
defense were adopted. General Beauregard[39] organized an

army at Manassas Junction to guard the direct approach
from Washington to Richmond; General Joseph E. Johnston
a second at Harper's Ferry to cover the Shenandoah
valley; Generals Huger and Magruder a third to bar the
route to Richmond by way of the peninsula between the
James and the York rivers, while General Garnett was
sent with troops to West Virginia to operate against the
Federals in that part of the state.

Opening of Hostilities in Virginia. — The first invasion of
the state occurred on May 24, 1861, when Federal troops
took possession of Alexandria, where there were a number
of strong secessionists. For some days before the occupation,
a Confederate flag flying from the top of a hotel had
been plainly seen from the President's house in Washington.
This, Colonel Ellsworth of the Fire Zouave Regiment,
U. S. A., hastened to take down with his own hand.
But as he descended from the top of the building, holding
the flag, he was shot dead by the owner, Mr. Jackson, who
was himself killed a moment later by Ellsworth's soldiers
This was the first bloodshed in Virginia, and the next took
place in a skirmish at Big Bethel, near Fortress Monroe,
on June 10, when fourteen hundred Confederates under
General John B. Magruder defeated three thousand Federals,
belonging to the army of General Butler. These
events mark the opening of the great struggle that took
place in Virginia.

Battle of Manassas. — But the first important battle of
the war took place at Manassas, where an army of thirty
thousand Federals under General McDowell, which had
set out from Washington for Richmond, encountered the
Confederate army under General Beauregard. As the left
wing of the Federal army attempted to cross Bull Run,
a little stream that flows along the plains of Manassas, a

skirmish occurred in which the Federals were driven back.
This was but the forerunner of a general engagement
which took place on July 21, 1861. In this battle success
was at first with the Federals. Their right wing drove
back the left wing of the Confederates, which rendered

Stonewall Jackson in the Battle of Manassas

the situation full of peril. Seeing this General Bee of
South Carolina rushed up to General Thomas J. Jackson,[40]
and exclaimed, "General, they are beating us back!" "Sir,
we will give them the bayonet," was Jackson's prompt
reply. Bee went back to his men and rallied them, saying,
"Look, there is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let
us determine to die here, and we will conquer." From that
day General Jackson became known to fame as Stonewall
Jackson.

The Confederates rallied after the day seemed about
lost, and checked the advance of the Federals till Kirby
Smith, who had been sent by General Johnston from the
Valley, arrived with reenforcements which made Beauregard's
army nearly equal in numbers to McDowell's.
Then the tide of battle turned, and the Federals began a
retreat which ended in a rout and a panic. The soldiers
threw away their arms and fled toward Washington.

The Victory not Followed up. — The Confederates did
not follow up their great victory. Indeed, they did not
realize its completeness till the day after the battle. Had
they pushed on with all speed after the terror-stricken
Federals, they might perhaps have followed them over the
bridge across the Potomac, for the destruction of which no
preparations had been made, and taken possession of
Washington. In not doing this, they lost an opportunity
which never came to them again.

Situation at the End of 1861. — As the year drew to a
close, it became evident that the war would not end in a
short time as many had supposed. Both sides now prepared

for a prolonged contest. The Federal army at
Washington, which was known as the Army of the Potomac,
was greatly increased. General George B. McClellan
was made its commander in place of General Scott; and
during the autumn and winter his forces numbering nearly
two hundred thousand lay around Washington. He was
confronted by the Army of Northern Virginia about sixty
thousand strong under General Joseph E. Johnston. After

Gen. George B. McClellan

Manassas the Confederates
had advanced as far
as Fairfax Courthouse,
and the flags at their
outposts were visible in
Washington.

Resources of the Two
Sections. — A brief comparison
of the resources
of the two sections is
necessary to show the unequal
character of the
struggle in which the
South was engaged. In
round numbers the states
that remained in the
Union had a population of twenty-three millions, while
the territory of the Confederacy contained only nine
millions, of which three and a half millions were negroes.
So the North could put in the field more than three times
as many soldiers as the South. Besides this, the North
had factories of all kinds, and could manufacture all the
war supplies, arms, and clothes that the soldiers would need.
The South was almost without factories; and soon after
the opening of hostilities, her ports were blockaded by the

North. Thus all help from abroad was cut off. But the
victory at Manassas made the South believe that, in spite
of her inferior resources, success would crown her arms.
She had faith in her own prowess; and she hoped too that
she would not have to contend against the United States
unaided. England and France had promptly accorded her
belligerent rights; and it seemed probable, early in the
war, that these powers might even acknowledge her independence.

QUESTIONS

• 1. What action on the part of the Confederacy caused the cry of "On
  to Richmond!" to be raised by the North?

• 2. What preparations did the Federals make to invade Virginia?

• 3. How did the Confederates prepare to defend the state?

• 4. What incident caused the first bloodshed on her soil?

• 5. When and where did the first skirmish take place?

• 6. Give an account of the battle of Manassas.

• 7. How did Jackson receive the name of Stonewall?

• 8. Give the leading facts in the life of Stonewall Jackson.

• 9. What was the result of the battle of Manassas?

• 10. Had the Confederates followed up this victory, what might have
  been the result?

• 11. What was the condition of the two armies at the end of 1861?

• 12. Compare the resources of the two sections.