1861
Late in April, 1861, the Confederate government moved its capital from
Montgomery, Ala., to Richmond, Va. This transfer was intended to bind
Virginia closer to the other Southern states and to put the Confederate
government nearer Washington when the time came to discuss the peace
treaty. In reality the move backfired. It made Richmond the primary
Federal target and Virginia the major battleground of the Civil War.
Few engagements occurred in 1861, when neither North nor South had a
highly organized, efficient army. What both sides in 1861 called armies
were more like armed and unruly mobs. Yet President Lincoln and the
Congress, hoping to end the war quickly, were anxious to capture
Richmond.
As a result, Federal forces made three thrusts into Virginia. They first
moved from Ohio into the pro-Northern counties of western Virginia,
where Confederate regiments as "green" as the Federal units were
stationed. In a series of small battles, including Philippi (June 3),
Rich Mountain (July 11), and Corrick's Ford (July 13), the Federals were
victorious. In 1863 this region entered the Union as the loyal state of
West Virginia.
The other two Federal invasions were less successful. The main Virginia
defenses stretched from Norfolk northward to the Potomac River, thence
westward to Harpers Ferry. Early in June, Gen. Benjamin F. Butler left
Fort Monroe with a Federal force and struck at Richmond by way of the
peninsula between the James and York rivers. At Big Bethel Church, just
west of Yorktown, Confederates attacked and sent Butler's men stampeding
back to their base at Fort Monroe.
[Illustration: Benjamin F. Butler, a politician with little military
experience, led two ill-fated campaigns against Richmond.]
The third and main Federal push into Virginia resulted in the largest
battle fought in 1861. In mid-July, Gen. Irvin McDowell moved from
Washington with some 35,000 recruits. McDowell's ultimate target was
Richmond, but first he had to capture the important railroad junction of
Manassas. Through espionage agents the Confederates learned of
McDowell's advance. Quickly Gens. P. G. T. Beauregard and Joseph E.
Johnston concentrated 30,000 Southern troops near Manassas to block the
Federal move. On a very hot Sunday, July 21, McDowell attacked
Beauregard and Johnston near a stream known as Bull Run. As in the case
of many Civil War battles, the main attack was against the flank (or
end) of the line, while for deception a lesser assault force struck at
the center of the defending force's position.
[Illustration: A great-nephew of Patrick Henry, "Uncle Joe" Johnston
proved a superb army commander. Yet he and President Davis had too
many personal and official differences during the war.]
The Federals might have won a smashing victory that day but for a
stubborn brigade of Virginians under Gen. Thomas J. Jackson. The refusal
of Jackson and his men to give ground not only helped save the day for
the South but also earned for that general and his brigade the name
"Stonewall."
Losses in the battle of First Manassas, or First Bull Run, were much
less than those in the larger battles to come. The Federals lost 2,896
men killed, wounded, and missing. The Confederates suffered 1,982
casualties.
This battle at Manassas had several important effects. Southerners were
convinced that Yankees were poor fighters, and that the war would be
brief. On the other hand, Northerners realized that defeating the
Confederacy would take longer than anticipated. Thus, while Southerners
celebrated a great victory, the North began raising and equipping large
armies for full-scale war.
A month later occurred an engagement in the West. On August 10, a
Federal army sought out and attacked a Confederate force at Wilson's
Creek, near Springfield, Mo. In this battle, often called "Bull Run of
the West," the Federals met defeat. The Union commander, Gen. Nathaniel
Lyon, was killed in the midst of the fighting.
On October 21, the North suffered another costly setback. Near Ball's
Bluff, Va., Confederate defenders all but annihilated a Federal scouting
force. The "Ball's Bluff disaster" spurred into action the "Committee on
the Conduct of the War." Seven U. S. congressmen made up this
investigating body. Although not one had had army training, they
continually inquired into the military affairs of every Federal army and
often embarrassed generals in the field.
While Confederates in 1861 won most of the battles, Lincoln and his
government by no means felt defeated. Gen. George B. McClellan was
building an army at Washington that would soon number 100,000 volunteer
troops. This force would be the largest ever amassed in the Western
Hemisphere up to that time. Moreover, the North had won a few victories.
On November 7, a Federal amphibious force had captured Port Royal, S.
C., thus gaining a beachhead on the South Atlantic coast. Yet on that
same day, another Federal army suffered defeat at Belmont, Mo. The
losing general was an unknown officer from Illinois, and this was his
first Civil War battle. His name was Ulysses S. Grant.