Stonewall Finally Comes Out of Hiding; Halleck Faster Than Remembered

| May 6, 2012

May 6, 1862 (Tuesday) For the 8,000 men of Stonewall Jackson’s command, the past week had mostly been a needless slog through muddy and unmaintained roads. They had abandoned their camp near Swift Run Gap on April 30 to march upon Staunton, Virgina to bolter General Allegheny Johnson’s 3,600 facing off against part of General [...]

Rebels in Corinth Prepare for the Coming Battle; Butler Takes Over New Orleans

| May 2, 2012

May 2, 1862 (Friday) “We are about to meet once more in the shock of battle the invaders of our soil, the despoilers of our homes, the disturbers of our family ties,” warned Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard to his veterans of Shiloh. “Face to face, hand to hand, we are to decide whether we are [...]

Stonewall Burns His Bridges, Hides Behind a Mountain

| April 19, 2012

April 19, 1862 (Saturday) It was an incredibly rainy day in the Shenandoah Valley as General Stonewall Jackson’s army of 8,000 began another pre-dawn retreat south. They had slogged nearly 100 miles in the past month, following their dismantling at the Battle of Kernstown, the Federal cavalry nipping at their heels incessantly. The Confederate cavalry, [...]

Times are Tough for New Mexican Rebels

| April 8, 2012

April 8, 1862 (Tuesday) Since their tactical victory/strategic defeat at Glorieta Pass, New Mexico, the Confederates under General Henry Sibley had been celebrating/lamenting in Santa Fe. By the 4th of April, Sibley’s entire army, which had been scattered before the battle, was finally whole. The problem (and what turned the victory into a defeat) was [...]

Buell and Grant Surprise the Rebels at Shiloh; Island No. 10 Falls

| April 7, 2012

April 7, 1862 (Monday) General Grant tried to sleep, first under a tree near his men and then in a cabin that he found already occupied with the wounded. Through the night, Union transports and reinforcements arrived at Pittsburg Landing, bringing 25,000 much-needed men. Grant was certain that his line could withstand a Confederate attack. [...]

My God! We Are Attacked! Disorganized Surprise at Shiloh Church

| April 6, 2012

April 6, 1862 (Sunday) The Confederate Army of Mississippi was exhausted. After three treacherous days of marching through cold mud and rain, all 40,000 of them lay quiet, flat against the soaked ground waiting for dawn and the call to attack. As the dawn cast its first light slivers across the eastern horizon, Generals Albert [...]

General McClellan and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

| April 5, 2012

April 5, 1862 (Saturday) The previous day had been a good one for George Briton McClellan, commander of the Union Army of the Potomac. The Rebels to his front gave up ground quickly as he advanced two columns up the Virginia Peninsula. Though a division had been withheld from him a few days ago, he [...]

McClellan’s First Good Day is Also His Last

| April 4, 2012

April 4, 1862 (Friday) Though the Confederates in the Shenandoah Valley and south of Washington had fallen back, Lincoln was still apprehensive over covering the capital. The Rebels had fallen back to Fredericksburg, Orange Court House and Mount Jackson (in the Valley), but Washington wasn’t fully aware of how many were where. So worried and [...]

Rebels Prepare to Attack Grant; McClellan Loses His First Corps

| April 3, 2012

April 3, 1862 (Thursday) “There is no need of haste,” wrote General Ulysses S. Grant to the vanguard of his reinforcements, “come on by easy marches.” The Union armies of Generals Grant and Buell were about to unite after weeks of waiting. Grant and his command occupied Pittsburg Landing, along the Tennessee River, while Buell’s [...]

George B. McClellan’s Fuzzy Math and Opportune Egress

| April 1, 2012

April 1, 1862 (Tuesday – All Fool’s Day) Washington was growing too hot for General George McClellan. The War Department were still meddling and just the previous day, Lincoln had bowed to political pressures and reduced McClellan’s Army of the Potomac by transferring General Blenker’s entire division, roughly 10,000 men, to Western Virginia. McClellan was [...]