In General McClellan's plan for the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, General
McDowell, with the First Army Corps of 37,000 men, was assigned a most
important part, that of joining him before Richmond. Lincoln had
reluctantly consented to the plan, fearing sufficient protection was not
provided for Washington. By the battle of Kernstown, March 23d, in the
Valley of Virginia, Jackson, though defeated, so alarmed the
Administration that McDowell was ordered to remain at Manassas to protect
the capital. The reverse at Kernstown was therefore a real triumph for
Jackson, but with his small force he had to keep up the game of holding
McDowell, Banks, and Frémont from reënforcing McClellan. If he failed,
80,000 troops might move up to Richmond from the west while McClellan was
approaching from the North. But Jackson, on May 23d and 25th, surprised
Banks' forces at Front Royal and Winchester, forcing a retreat to the
Potomac. At the news of this event McDowell was ordered not to join
McClellan in front of Richmond.
[Illustration: JOHNSTON AND LEE--A PHOTOGRAPH OF 1869.
_Copyright by Review of Reviews Co._]
These men look enough alike to be brothers. They were so in arms, at West
Point, in Mexico and throughout the war. General Joseph E. Johnston (on
the left), who had led the Confederate forces since Bull Run, was wounded
at Fair Oaks. That wound gave Robert E. Lee (on the right) his opportunity
to act as leader. After Fair Oaks, Johnston retired from the command of
the army defending Richmond. The new commander immediately grasped the
possibilities of the situation which confronted him. The promptness and
completeness with which he blighted McClellan's high hopes of reaching
Richmond showed at one stroke that the Confederacy had found its great
general. It was only through much sifting that the North at last picked
military leaders that could rival him in the field.
[Illustration: THE FLEET THAT FED THE ARMY]
[Illustration: THE ABANDONED BASE