Pope's tenure was short-lived. On August 30, in the Second Battle of Bull Run, the combined Confederate forces of Lee, Jackson, and Gen. James Longstreet inflicted heavy casualties on Union troops and sent them reeling back to Washington, where Pope was relieved of his command.
Following up on this victory, Lee in September 1862 startled the North by invading Maryland with some 50,000 troops. Not only did he expect this bold move to demoralize Northerners, he hoped a victory on Union soil would encourage foreign recognition of the Confederacy. McClellan, with 90,000 men, moved to check Lee's advance. On September 17, in the bloody Battle of Antietam, some 12,000 Northerners and 12,700 Southerners were killed or wounded. Lee was forced back to Virginia; Lincoln, angered that McClellan made no effort to cut off Lee's retreat, relieved the general of his command.
In late 1862, the Army of the Potomac resumed its offensive toward Richmond, this time under the command of Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside. On December 13, he unwisely chose to challenge Lee's nearly impregnable defenses around Fredericksburg, Va., on the Rappahannock River.
In still another disaster, Union forces suffered more than 10,000 killed or wounded and were forced to retreat to Washington. Burnside too was relieved of his command.
Grant's initial successes on the Mississippi
While a stalemate settled over the eastern front, Union military operations in the West proved far more successful. The objective was control of the Mississippi Valley, thereby splitting the Confederacy in half and cutting off the flow of men and supplies from Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. Early in 1862, Grant, with the support of a fleet of ironclad ships, succeeded in capturing Fort Henry, Tenn., on the Tennessee River. With the later capture of Fort Donelson, Tenn., on the Cumberland River, along with about 16,000 Confederate troops, the way was clear to sweep down the Mississippi. Meanwhile, west of the river, Union troops defeated a Confederate force at Pea Ridge, Ark. (March 6-8), consolidating Union control of Missouri. Falling back from its position around Nashville, Tenn., the Confederate army in northern Tennessee retreated south toward Mississippi, where it tried to establish a new line of defense. Grant halted his advance at Shiloh, Tenn., and waited there to be reinforced by an army under Gen. Don Carlos Buell (1818-98). Hoping to destroy Grant's army before the reinforcements arrived, a Confederate force under Beauregard and Gen. Albert S. Johnston staged a nearly successful surprise attack on April 6. With the arrival of Buell's men, however, the combined Union force repulsed the attack, and the Confederates retreated into Mississippi. On May 30, Corinth, Miss., a railroad center critical to Southern defenses, fell, and by early June, Union troops had overrun most of west and east Tennessee and controlled the Mississippi as far south as Memphis, Tenn.
The capture of New Orleans and the Battle of Murfreesboro
In a coordinated strategy, Union forces also moved up the Mississippi from the south. In April, a naval squadron commanded by Capt. David G. Farragut penetrated Confederate defenses at the mouth of the Mississippi and forced the surrender of New Orleans, La. On May 1 Union troops under Gen. Benjamin F. Butler moved into the Confederacy's largest city and principal port. During the last months of 1862, Grant consolidated his position along the Mississippi. Buell, ordered to move on Chattanooga, Tenn., clashed indecisively with Confederate forces under Gen. Braxton Bragg. In December, Gen. William S. Rosecrans, who had replaced Buell, confronted Bragg's troops in a three-day battle on the Stones River near Murfreesboro, Tenn., forcing them to retreat. Meanwhile, Grant prepared for an assault on Vicksburg, Miss., the last remaining Confederate stronghold in the West, high on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. Considered by the Confederates an impregnable fortress, Vicksburg resisted Union attacks, and Grant's army bogged down in the rugged terrain guarding the north and east approaches to the city.
Chancellorsville
When he assumed command of the Army of the Potomac, Gen. Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker promised to reverse the long string of Union defeats in the East. In April, with an army of 130,000 men, he prepared to challenge Lee, whose army of 60,000 was massed in Virginia, near Fredericksburg. While holding Lee's attention at Fredericksburg, Hooker dispatched a force around the town to attack the Confederate flank. Hesitant to use his reserves at such a critical juncture, he chose to withdraw to a defensive position at Chancellorsville, Va. With little hesitation, the combined forces of Lee and Jackson fell on Hooker's army and, in a fierce three-day battle (May 2-4), inflicted such heavy casualties that Hooker was forced to retreat. Chancellorsville was also a costly battle for the South. Lee lost nearly one-fifth of his men, as well as his brilliant general, Stonewall Jackson.
An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group. A WRC Media Company. All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted by written agreement, uses of the work inconsistent with U.S. and applicable foreign copyright and related laws are prohibited.
