Stonewall Jackson and Ewell Prepare to Disregard Orders; Surrender of Vicksburg Demanded

| May 18, 2012

May 18, 1862 (Sunday) The Spring of 1862 in the Shenandoah Valley was shaping up to be beautiful, and this quiet Sunday was no different. As the camp of Stonewall Jackson knelt in prayer near Mt. Solon, a very flustered and conflicted General Richard Ewell dropped by unannounced and without orders. This Sabbath would not [...]

McClellan Gets His Reinforcements (Sort Of…); Jackson to Disobey an Order?

| May 17, 2012

May 17, 1862 (Saturday) Since his time in the Mexican War, General Irvin McDowell had done little more than sit behind a desk. That is, until the eruption of hostilities between North and South, at which time he was a major on General Winfield Scott’s staff. In need of officers, he was quickly raised three [...]

Jackson Given Permission to Unleash his Men; Beast Butler

| May 16, 2012

May 16, 1862 (Friday) General Stonewall Jackson, leading his army towards Harrisonburg, Virginia, had ordered General Richard Ewell to begin a move northward, down the Shenandoah Valley. His destination was to be the Federal troops under Nathaniel Banks, near Strasburg. After receiving the order, Ewell, already fairly disgruntled at Jackson, dragged his feet, figuring that [...]

McClellan Grossly Over-Estimates the Enemy… Again

| May 14, 2012

May 14, 1862 (Wednesday) General George McClellan’s trudge up the Virginia Peninsula was slow going to be sure. He needed more troops, more ammunition and more time. A week prior, he had made one effort to cut off the Confederate retreat by throwing a couple divisions between the Army of Northern Virginia and their capital. [...]

McClellan’s Plan is Too Little, Too Late; Jackson on the March!

| May 7, 2012

May 7, 1862 (Wednesday) While Union Generals Sumner and Hooker fought the Battle of Williamsburg against Confederate General Longstreet (and each other), Federal commander General George McClellan had remained back at Yorktown. During the battle, he had heard the sound of a sharp fight, even telegraphing Washington about it, but never ventured forward to see [...]

The Incredibly Ill-Conceived Battle of Williamsburg

| May 5, 2012

May 5, 1862 (Monday) The town of Williamsburg rested on a narrow stretch of the Virginia Peninsula, five miles wide. As the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, under General Joe Johnston was retreating from the defenses of Yorktown, they had to squeeze themselves through this bottleneck as Union cavalry from the Army of the Potomac [...]

Yorktown Falls! McClellan Dallies, Rebels Nearly Escape

| May 4, 2012

May 4, 1862 (Sunday) From high in a balloon above the Yorktown defenses, Lt. George Armstrong Custer peered through the gray pre-dawn towards strange fires, as if buildings were ablaze and homes set to burning. He had not a clue what to make of it. He saw flashes, like blasts of heavy artillery. The dark [...]

McClellan Wants More Guns, Lincoln Urges Him to Move; Complaints about Slaves

| May 1, 2012

May 1, 1862 (Thursday) Through the previous two weeks, both Confederate and Union troops on the Peninsula hunkered down for a siege at Yorktown. General George McClellan, commander of the Union Army of the Potomac, had been reinforced and its ranks now swelled to 112,000. His opponent, General Joe Johnston, commanding the Army of Northern [...]

Mutiny at Fort Jackson! Stonewall Expects too Much of his Foes

| April 27, 2012

April 27, 1862 (Sunday) Way down south, at Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the Rebels had not yet surrendered to Captain David Porter, who commanded the fleet of mortar boats on the lower Mississippi River. Porter had demanded the surrender of the forts on April 24th, just after Farragut had steamed his fleet towards New [...]

General Banks Loses Jackson, Absolutely Certain He Fled the Shenandoah Valley

| April 22, 2012

April 22, 1862 (Tuesday) Union General Nathaniel Banks was in a fog. Following the brief scrap with Stonewall Jackson’s cavalry at the Columbia bridge on the 19th, he became convinced that Jackson’s entire army had left the valley, slipping through the passes to Rappahannock Station, on his way to reinforce General Joe Johnston on the [...]