VIII. And the Blood Pours

A. Road to 2nd Manassas• Lincoln reshuffles the army

– In July 1862, Henry Halleck is appointed the new General-in-Chief

– Combines the armies of Banks, McDowell, and Freemont into the army of Virginia (Gen. Pope commanding)

• Lee takes a chance– Divides the army– Sends half of his army, under Jackson, around Bull Run

Mt. and in behind Pope’s army– Lee and Gen. James Longstreet keep Pope occupied

B. 2nd Battle of ManassasDay 11) Jackson Marches 60 miles in 2 days to pilfer

Pope’s supplies- burn the rest at Manassas Junction

2) Jackson moves to Centerville3) Pope dispatches Union forces under Generals

Heintzelman and Reno to pursue Jackson4) Expecting reinforcements, Jackson makes a stand

at Groveton5) Jackson attacks Union forces at Browner’s Farm6 & 7) Sigel & Porter converge on Jackson8) Pope has Jackson cornered, but Longstreet arrives

Day 2

1) Pope attacks, Jackson holds his ground

2) Longstreet surprises Pope with a massive artillery barrage on the Union left flank

3 & 4) Longstreet slams the Union left flank and captures Bald Hill

5) Union forces form a defensive line on Henry House Hill

6) Jackson strikes hard on the Union right flank

7) Pope orders a retreat to Centerville

C. Captain’s Report• General John Pope

• 70,000

• 14,154 casualties

• Robert E. Lee

• 55,000

• 8,397 casualties

• CSA Victory

D. Road to Antietam• Lee invades the north

– Crosses over the Potomac in Maryland– CSA is on the offensive– CSA high water mark- this is the closest the CSA come

to winning the war

• South has the advantage in both the east & the west• Braxton Bragg replaces the ill Beauregard as overall

commander in the west– Good friend of Jeff Davis

• Great Britain was on the verge of recognizing the CSA. They waited to see how Lee would do with his invasion

E. Special Order 191• The order laid out the entire plan of attack for the

CSA army– Lee sent copies to his commanders– Jackson had it copied and sent it to his subordinates– D.H. Hill’s copy was wrapped around 3 cigars and left at

a campsite in Frederick, MD

• Special Order 191 was discovered by Cpl. Barton W. Mitchell of the 27th IN– Orders were sent straight to McClellan– McClellan now had the power to end the war in the next

24 hours– He did nothing for 16 hours

• JEB Stuart informed Lee of the missing orders and McClellan’s inaction allowed Lee to make adjustments

• Lee shifted his army to the nearby town of Sharpsburg, MD

• Jackson had already been sent to capture Harper’s Ferry & rejoin Lee at Sharpsburg

F. Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)1) Gen. Joseph Hooker’s I Corps attack Jackson at

Miller’s Cornfield

2) Mansfield’s XII Corps advance on the CSA at the Dunker Church

3) CSA repulse Mansfield

4) Sumner advances his men in the west woods where CSA forces turn them back

5) Union attack CSA at the sunken road– AKA “Bloody Lane”– 2200 casualties in 20 minutes– 5,600 casualties in 4 hours

Dunker Church

Bloody Lane

6) Gen. Ambrose Burnside wastes 3 vital hours trying to cross Antietam Creek (Burnside’s Bridge)

7) Gen. Rodman finally crosses down stream as Burnside joins him to attack Longstreet’s men on the south flank

8) A.P. Hill arrives from Harper’s Ferry to save the CSA from complete annihilation

Burnside’s Bridge

G. Captain’s Report• George B. McClellan

• 70,000

• 12,410 casualties

• Robert E. Lee

• 38,000

• 13,724 casualties

The Bloodiest Single Day of the War

Draw

H. Emancipation Proclamation• Lincoln decided that he needed to issue a

proclamation to free the slaves

• He decided that he would only free the slaves in the states of rebellion– WHY?

• Lincoln needed a victory to legitimize his proclamation- Antietam would have to do

• Issued Sept. 26, 1862, and took effect Jan. 1, 1863

• The proclamation accomplished two things– Changed the focus of the war to slavery– Prevented British intervention on behalf of the CSA

I. CSA Advances in the West• After Halleck takes command in Washington DC,

he establishes 2 major western armies– Army of the Tennessee (Grant)– Army of the Cumberland (Buell)

• Bragg now moves into Kentucky and seizes Richmond

• Bragg, however, allows Buell to get in between him and the Ohio River resulting in the Battle of Perryville

• During the battle, neither Buell nor Bragg know what is going on until the battle is over- the Union win a decisive victory thanks to Gen. Phillip Sheridan

J. Aftermath of the Invasion • With Lee’s army heading back across the Potomac

after Sharpsburg, the North must act quickly to destroy the CSA

• McClellan instead waited 6 weeks to cross the Potomac and advance on Lee- McClellan is at last removed from command

• Replacing McClellan is Ambrose Burnside– He is very reluctant– Has a one-track mind

• General William S. Rosecrans replaces Buell in the west

• Burnside will prove to be the next in a long line of inept Union generals

• Burnside reorganizes the army into Grand Divisions- this causes utter confusion throughout the ranks

• The Union will establish 3 armies with 3 objectives

1. Army of the Potomac (Burnside)

- Lee in Virginia

2. Army of the Cumberland (Rosecrans)- Bragg south of Nashville

3. Army of the Tennessee (Grant)

- Gen. John C. Pemberton in Vicksburg

K. Fredericksburg• Burnside sets up camp along the banks of the

Rappahannock River

• Burnside needs to cross the river to catch Lee without his full force

• Burnside decides to wait for pontoon bridges to cross the river– Bridges arrive late– Burnside loses a fortnight

• In the meantime, Jackson and Longstreet join Lee to form a 7 mile front with 75,000 men

L. Battle of Fredericksburg1) Under sniper fire, engineers struggle to assemble

the pontoon bridges

2) The lower bridges are completed

3) Gen. Franklin attacks CSA right flank. Gen. Pelham’s artillery holds for 2 hours

4) Gen. George Meade’s attack is initially successful, but CSA counterattacks drive him back

5) Gen. Sumner is ordered to launch wave after wave up Marye’s Heights. Sumner’s men are massacred. Burnside retreats back across the Rappahannock

Meade

3

4

Jackson

1

25Longstreet

Sumner

M. Captain’s Report• Ambrose Burnside

• 120,000

• 12,653 casualties

• Robert E. Lee

• 75,000

• 5,309 casualties

CSA Victory

N. Murfreesboro• Typical winter soldier movement

– Moved very little WHY?– Established winter camps

• Strategic• Accessible• Easily Defensible• Contains resources

• Bragg set up winter camp at Murfreesboro– Major rail junction

• Rosecrans moves into Murfreesboro to face the Army of Tennessee

O. Battle of Murfreesboro (Stones River)1. At dawn, Bragg launches his attack at Widow

Smith House- turning the Union right flank2. Gen. Phillip Sheridan holds off CSA attacks until

he runs out of ammunition3. Gen. George H. Thomas forms a new defensive

line at a right angle to the old one4. Col. Hazen’s artillery hold their position5. Day 1 ends with the Union forming a salient

around Rosecrans HQ6. Gen. John C. Breckinridge attacks in open field

and is attacked by Union artillery7. Union cross the river and stop the CSA advance

P. Captain’s Report• William S. Rosecrans

• 41,000

• 12,906 casualties

• Braxton Bragg

• 35,000

• 11,739 casualties

Draw

1

Bragg

Polk

Hardee

ThomasSheridan

2

Thomas3Rosecrans

4

Q. Chancellorsville• Union changes commanders

– “Fighting” Joe Hooker– Hard living/Hard drinking– Aggressive & Arrogant

• Hooker plan– Leave 2 corps in Fredericksburg to challenge Lee’s army– 3 corps would move around Lee’s left and rear– Cavalry would perform raids and cut CSA lines of

communication

• Lee responds by not taking the bait & uses the cavalry to screen his position

R. Battle of Chancellorsville• Lee divides his army

– Leaves 15,000 in Fredericksburg– Takes 45,000 to Chancellorsville– Gives Stonewall 26,000 to execute a flank march

1. Jackson begins his 13 mile flank march around the Union

2. Lee distracts Hooker with small diversionary attacks

3. Jackson arrives on the Union flank at 6pm

4. Jackson orders an all-out assault on a surprised Gen. O.O. Howard’s XI corps

5. XI corps make a final stand at Wilderness Church to buy some time

6. Gen. Dan Sickles retreats to Hazel Grove and repels CSA advances

7. Sickles is aided by Union artillery at Fariview Cemetery- Union retreats as darkness halts CSA advances for the day

8. At 9:30pm, Jackson goes out on a scouting mission. He and his group are mistaken for Union cavalry. His own men shoot and wound Jackson in the left arm. He dies on May 10 from pneumonia- His last words were: “Let us cross over the river and rest beneath the shade of the trees.”

S. Captain’s Report• Joseph Hooker

• 134,000

• 16,792 casualties

• Robert E. Lee

• 60,000

• 12,763 casualties + Stonewall Jackson

CSA Victory