University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XXV

CAMPAIGNS OF 1862

The Virginia. — After the secession of Virginia, the
Federal navy yard at Norfolk fell into the hands of the
Confederates. Before the Federals left it, however, they
burned and sunk a number of vessels. Among these was
a frigate, called the Merrimac, which was only partly
destroyed. This the Confederates raised and covered
heavily with iron, thus converting the wooden ship into a
most formidable ironclad, the first that was ever made.
On March 8, 1862, just before the land campaign opened,
this strange-looking craft, which had been renamed Virginia,
steamed into Hampton Roads and attacked the
Federal fleet. The heaviest guns were brought to bear
upon her, but they produced no impression whatever on
her iron sides. She speedily sunk the Cumberland and
the Congress, while the Minnesota, in trying to escape,
ran aground. The rest of the fleet scattered.

Battle between the Virginia and the Monitor. — The
Virginia, having won a complete triumph, went back
to Norfolk when night came on, returning the next day
to renew her attack on the Minnesota. But this time
she was met by a formidable enemy that had arrived
in the night. This was Ericsson's Monitor, an ironclad
gunboat that looked like "a cheese box on a raft." A
fierce engagement took place between the ironclads, but
neither could seriously damage the other, and so the battle

The Cumberland and the Virginia

was a drawn one. The appearance of the Monitor,
however, was most opportune for the Federal cause; for
had the Virginia been unopposed for a short time, she
might have ascended the Potomac and destroyed Washington.

A little later the Confederates evacuated Norfolk; and
the Virginia was blown up to keep her from falling into
the hands of the Federals. Thus her career came to an
end. The battle between the Virginia and the Monitor
showed that in the future naval conflicts would be decided
by ironclads, and it caused all the great powers to reconstruct
their navies, thus producing a revolution in naval
warfare.

Plan of the Peninsular Campaign. — When the spring
opened, instead of attacking Johnston where he was,
McClellan decided to transport his army by water to the

peninsula between the James and the York rivers, and to
approach Richmond from that direction. He was to be
supported by reenforcements that were to proceed by
land from Washington. The Confederates on their part
arranged to have General Johnston march down from
Manassas to oppose McClellan.

Jackson's Valley Campaign. — But Stonewall Jackson
was left in the Valley of Virginia, where he carried on a
campaign which for daring and brilliancy is surpassed by
none recorded in history. He proved himself so active
that he completely disarranged the Federal plans. His
presence in the Valley put Washington in danger; and the
Lincoln government decided that it was necessary to dislodge
him or capture him before reenforcements could be
sent to McClellan. But victory remained with Jackson.
In three months — from the last of March to the last of
June — he defeated and scattered four Federal armies under
Milroy, Fremont, Banks, and Shields, winning every battle
except one at Kernstown. With an army that never numbered
more than seventeen thousand, he threw the whole
North into a panic, and kept sixty thousand men from
joining McClellan down on the peninsula. All this he
accomplished with a total loss of less than two thousand.
Jackson's exploits in this campaign won for him the admiration
not only of America, but also of Europe.

Battle of Seven Pines. — While Jackson was operating
in the Valley, McClellan started on his peninsular campaign.
With a magnificent army of one hundred and ten thousand,
a large number of transports, men-of-war, and vessels loaded
with supplies, he landed at Old Point. General Magruder,
with an army of eleven thousand, delayed his progress till
Johnston came down from Manassas and threw his army
between McClellan and Richmond. On May 31, 1862, at

Seven Pines, while the two wings of the Federal army
were separated by the Chickahominy River, Johnston
attacked McClellan, and defeating the left wing of his
army, drove it back with heavy loss. The right wing of
the Federal army held its ground, and this rendered the
battle indecisive; but McClellan's advance was for the
time stopped. In this engagement, Johnston was severely

The Seven Days' Battles

wounded; and he was succeeded by General Lee, who
remained at the head of the Army of Northern Virginia
till the end of the war.

The Seven Days' Battles. — General Lee called Jackson
and his men who were flushed with their victories in the
Valley to his aid, and from June 26 to July 2 fought the
series of battles known as the Seven Days' Battles, in
which he struck McClellan blow after blow. As a result
of these engagements, the Federal commander was forced

to withdraw his army from the vicinity of Richmond to
the James River. The last of these battles was fought at
Malvern Hill, where McClellan had taken a strong position.
Here on July 1, the Confederates rashly attacked
him, and were repulsed with heavy loss. They did not
retire, however, when night came on, but remained close
to the Federal fortifications, intending to renew the battle
in the morning; but two hours after the Confederates had
withdrawn from the attack, the Federals, under cover of
darkness, made a hasty retreat to Harrison Landing, where
the presence of their fleet rendered them safe from attack.
In this campaign Lee's effective strength was eighty thousand,
and McClellan's one hundred and five thousand.
The result was a complete Confederate triumph. Richmond
was saved and the North discouraged.

Second Manassas. — The peninsular campaign having
proved a failure, the Federal army was transferred to
Acquia Creek, and joined with the army in front of Washington.
General Pope was put in command of the whole.
He, when he entered upon his campaign, issued a proclamation
in which he announced that success and glory were
in the front, and that "his headquarters would be in the
saddle." He did not, however, make much progress in his
effort to capture Richmond. At Manassas, on August 2930,
he was defeated by Lee, and his army retreated in confusion
to the defenses of Washington. The unfortunate
Federal general was, after his defeat, sent off on an expedition
against the Indians, and McClellan was restored to
the command of the Federal army.

Invasion of Maryland. — While McClellan was engaged
in reorganizing his army, Lee moved north into Maryland.
When he reached Frederick, he divided his army and sent
Jackson back to capture Harper's Ferry, which was strongly

garrisoned by the Federals. Unfortunately, a lost copy of
Lee's orders, directing the movements of the Confederates
on the Maryland campaign, fell into McClellan's hands,
who, with the information he thus obtained, moved rapidly
in the hope that he could crush Lee's forces while they
were divided. But Jackson promptly captured Harper's

Harper's Ferry

Ferry and rejoined General Lee before McClellan could
carry out his plan.

Battle of Sharpsburg. — At Sharpsburg, on September
17, 1862, the Confederate army, numbering less than forty
thousand, was attacked by McClellan with eighty-seven
thousand men. The Confederates fought magnificently,
and throughout the entire day repelled every attack made
upon them. They maintained a defiant front all the next

day, but neither side renewed the conflict, and when night
came General Lee recrossed the Potomac into Virginia.
Some Federal brigades followed the Confederates across
the river, but these were attacked by General A. P. Hill,[41]
who commanded Lee's rear guard, and driven back.
Sharpsburg, or Antietam, as the engagement is named by

A. P. Hill

Northern writers, is frequently
called a drawn battle, but it had
the effect of bringing the Confederate
invasion of Maryland
to an end, and of relieving the
Federal authorities of the fears
they entertained for the safety
of Baltimore and Washington.
The Confederates had crossed
the Potomac singing "Maryland,
my Maryland," and Lee expected
that the Marylanders
would come to him in large
numbers, but in this he was
disappointed, for but few recruits joined his standard.

Distinguished Englishmen Visit Lee. — General Lee remained
for a few days in the neighborhood of Shepherdstown,
and then took a position near Winchester, where he
allowed his war-worn army to rest for a few weeks. During
this period several distinguished British officers, among
whom was Lord Wolseley, visited him at his headquarters.

Battle of Fredericksburg. — Toward the end of October,
General McClellan crossed the Potomac and began another
invasion of Virginia. But he had not given satisfaction
to the government at Washington, and so he was retired
and General Burnside succeeded him. The new commander,
at the head of one hundred and thirteen thousand men, made
his advance toward Richmond by way of Fredericksburg,
where he encountered Lee's army, numbering sixty-five
thousand. On December 13 he attacked the Confederates
and sustained a crushing defeat. In the "Horror of
Fredericksburg," as the battle was called, the Federals lost
nearly thirteen thousand and the Confederates about five
thousand men. Burnside was now replaced by General
Hooker, "Fighting Joe Hooker" he was called, and the
Federals went into winter quarters at Falmouth.

QUESTIONS

• 1. Give the early history of the ironclad Virginia.

• 2. Describe the battle between the Virginia and the Monitor.

• 3. What was the fate of the Virginia?

• 4. What radical change in the navies of the world did this battle
  produce?

• 5. Give the plan of the Peninsular Campaign.

• 6. Give an account of Jackson's Valley Campaign.

• 7. How did Johnston check McClellan's advance at Seven Pines?

• 8. Who succeeded Johnston after this battle?

• 9. Describe the Seven Days' Battles.

• 10. What was the effective strength of the two armies?

• 11. What was the result of this campaign?

• 12. What proclamation did General Pope make?

• 13. What was the result of the second battle of Manassas?

• 14. What state did Lee now invade?

• 15. Describe the battle of Sharpsburg, and give its result.

• 16. Who visited Lee while his army was encamped near Winchester?

• 17. Describe the battle of Fredericksburg.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

• 1. What two theories were held in regard to the Constitution?

• 2. From what section did the first threats of secession come?

• 3. How did Virginia and the South look upon the Union?

• 4. How did the North and West regard it?

• 5. Give the reasons that made the South desire to leave the Union.

• 6. Who was elected President in 1860, and what followed his election?

• 7. What efforts did Virginia make for peace?

• 8. What request did the Confederate States make of the Federal government?

• 9. Give an account of the capture of Fort Sumter, and of the effect it
  had in the North and South.

• 10. What caused Virginia to secede, and what states followed her
  example?

• 11. Name some of the distinguished officers who resigned their commissions
  and came to Virginia.

• 12. What led to the formation of West Virginia?

• 13. What plans did the Federals make for invading Virginia, and how
  did the Confederates prepare to defend her?

• 14. Give an account of the opening of hostilities in Virginia.

• 15. Describe the battle of Manassas.

• 16. What was the situation in 1861, and how did the North and South
  compare in resources?

• 17. Describe the battle between the Virginia and the Monitor.

• 18. Give an account of Jackson's Valley Campaign.

• 19. Tell of the battle of Seven Pines.

• 20. Describe the Seven Days' Battles.

• 21. Tell of the second battle of Manassas.

• 22. What is said of Lee's invasion of Maryland?

• 23. Describe the battle of Sharpsburg or Antietam.

• 24. Give an account of the battle of Fredericksburg.