The Northern army was marching very slowly towards Manassas, Virginia under Gen. McDowell These troops ran into Gen. Beauregard’s army and began an assault but Thomas Jackson’s unit stood standing like a brick wall against the advance. The victory earned Jackson the nickname of “Stonewall”
This was the first major battle of the Civil War and the Confederates won “Bull Run” is also known as “The Battle of Manassas” The Union’s hopes of winning a “quick” war were shattered
GGeorge McClellan- American army general put in charge of Union troops. oHoHe was later removed for failing to move on to Richmond. MMcClellan launched The Peninsular Campaign (b/w York R. and James R.) to capture Richmond, VA the Confederate capital in the summer of 1862 but it was very slow in approach. TThe Union’s best attempt at Richmond was the Seven Days’ Battle, a series of battles that saw the South force the North to retreat. RRobert E. Lee was put in command of the Confederate Army; he was a West Point grad, Mexican War vet, and led Federal troops at Harper’s Ferry.
Second Battle of Bull Run lasted three days where Jackson’s troops met Pope’s troops on the battlefield. First Day: fought to a draw with huge casualties on both sides. Second Day: Pope pushed forward, just to be pushed back with heavy casualties on both sides. Third Day: the Union army was forced to retreat once the Confederates completed their assault.
Confederate leaders hoped to follow Robert E. Lee’s success in Virginia with a major victory in the North. 40,000 Confederate soldiers crossed into Maryland and ran into Union soldiers. (Lee vs. McClellan) More deaths occurred at the Battle of Antietam than the deaths of all Americans in the American Revolution, War of 1812, and the Mexican- American War combined. o The large amount of deaths would be a trend throughout the war. George B. McClellan did not use a back-up force to attack Lee’s battered army however, he stopped the Confederate advance to the North.
The North had most of the U.S Navy’s small fleet and had enough industry to build more ships. The blockade’s purpose was to prevent the South from selling or receiving goods o While effective, the blockade was hard to maintain because it covered thousands of miles of coastline. The union blockade reduced the number of ships entering to ports from 6000 to 800 per year.
Both sides needed an advantage at sea, so they turned to a new type of warship called the ironclad. No wood, and no need for wind b/c the ironclad was completely made of metal. In March 1862, the South’s “Virginia” sank 2 Union war ships.
In April of ’62, The Virginia returned to the blockade but met the North’s ironclad, the Monitor. The Monitor had a revolving gun tower which allowed it to fire at all sides. Neither ship inflicted heavy damages but the Monitor’s efforts sent the Confederate ship back home. These clashes of ironclads signaled a major change in naval warfare. o Eventually there was no more wooden warships.