Baldrick
Banned
The date was April 13, 1861. Rebel artillery poured down upon the beleaguered garrison of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina. The state had seceded from the Union several months before over the burning question of slavery, the question which had driven Abraham Lincoln to the White House. While hopes and expectations as to what the new leader might do were varied, the state authorities of South Carolina had not wanted to take the risk. On December 20, 1860, they had seceded from the Union. Nobody knew quite what might happen at the time, but a pattern quickly formed. The state had been joined over the next few weeks by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee, in that order. Now, in the name of the new Confederate States of America, the South Carolinian militia was shelling Fort Sumter. The garrison had been promised relief by President Lincoln, who was determined to take a hard line on this new, treasonous republic, but barring the arrival of a large number of fresh regiments immediately, there wasn't much that Washington, DC. could hope to do...
Part 1: First Battles
By the end of June 1861, it was inescapably clear that Lincoln's attempts to preserve the Union intact by peaceful means had failed. The Confederate States of America had been formed, with Jefferson Davis as President, a capital in Richmond, and a Constitution in the works. Whether or not Lincoln liked it, there was not a series of insurgents to be stamped out down South. There was a nation to be conquered.
The Union high command saw success right around the corner in the first few months of the war. In their eyes, a short, sharp, powerful blow into northeastern Virginia would blow the Army of Northeastern Virginia to smithereens, take Richmond, and force the Confederacy to capitulate. To that effect, Brigadier General Irvin McDowell led his forces a short distance from Washington, DC. to the town of Manassas, starting what would become known in Union circles after the fact as the Battle of Bull Run, and in Confederate ones as the Battle of Manassas. Both sides expected a quick and thrilling victory: in fact, some civilians from Washington, DC. and Manassas both came to view the battle, cheering and as happy and carefree as though it were a football match. McDowell started things off on the wrong foot straight away by launching a failed attack on the left of the Confederate forces. The defending Confederate troika of PGT Beauregard, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and Joe Johnston managed to repulse the attack, and the battle dragged on. In the early afternoon, numerous junior Federal commanders tied themselves down in attacks on Rebel positions on Henry Hill, a local piece of high ground, and it was then that the Confederates unleashed their counterattack. As the Union armies attempted to shove south-east, Colonel JEB Stuart's cavalry charged north into the Union right. The broken Federal forces fled, leaving Manassas solidly in Confederate hands and the eager Washingtonians fleeing in panic. Triumphant Rebel yells scattered across the plain for the rest of the day. With the field in Confederate hands, the first major threat to the CSA had been quelled. There was now little threat to Richmond, at least in the short term, and some in Union circles feared an attack on Washington, DC. The Confederates, however, had other plans...
Following the fiasco (from the Northern perspective, at least) at First Manassas, the Union reshuffled its command. A new force was created, the so-called Army of the Potomac, under the command of Major General George B. McClellan, who would ultimately become one of the most important figures in the fight for the Union. The Army of the Potomac had responsibility for defending Washington, DC., as well as ensuring that the Army of Northern Virginia did not try to break out into Maryland or the Delmarva peninsula. However, they need not have worried. Robert E. Lee, McClellan's opposite number, was uninterested in a knockout blow for the remainder of 1861, content to build his Army of Northern Virginia and make his move in 1862. Several skirmishes and minor battles took place in western Virginia, which had considerable pro-Union sympathies, as its population consisted largely of impoverished miners and small farmers, for whom trade with Yankee states was an essential pillar of the economy and saw no need to fight and die for slavery. This had the effect of shoving Rebel lines southeast in the state. Western Virginia, along with Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, and Kentucky was seen as a border region- namely, one which permitted slavery, but was undecided about committing to the Union or Confederacy. Jefferson Davis's insightful decision as to what to do about these states made in the summer of 1861 would have major implications on the war.
The border regions, as listed above, were all wavering. Some reluctantly joined the Union, some were occupied militarily, others were of divided loyalties and fought mini-civil wars of their own, and one officially declared neutrality. These all merit examination, as they would have key implications in the 1862 fighting and beyond. The first of these states was Delaware. Delaware had been a slave state before the war, and slaveowners had considerable power over the state's economy and politics. Before the war, a large portion of Delaware's economy had consisted, like Virginia's, Maryland's, etc, of trading cotton for finished goods and currency on the world markets. Nonetheless, Delaware was also further north enough for there to be a strong pro-Union sentiment, and Yankee-funded industries were developing in the state. Although during the last days of 1860 and first of 1861, some voices had called for Delaware to join the new Confederacy, the governor of the state had declared firmly for the North, and although some Delawareans were suitably angry at this to leave the state and join Rebel regiments being assembled in Virginia, the state remained with the Union.
The second border state was Maryland. Maryland, like Delaware, had a mixed economy of slave-based agriculture and Northern-funded industry, and its population was divided as regards their attitudes to secession on similar lines. However, unlike Delaware, Maryland occupied an essential strategic position. It touched upon Washington, DC., meaning that if it joined Virginia in secession, the US capital would be encircled and would no doubt not last long in the conflict. As such, whereas Delaware was given a chance to side with the Union, Lincoln was taking no chances here. On May 13, 1861, Maryland had been placed under US martial law and had habeas corpus suspended, a state of affairs which caused much anger towards Lincoln amongst the state's population. Throughout the summer and autumn of 1861, Richmond moved to exploit this discontent. Davis made all sorts of noises on the world stage about the "Yankee oppression" in the hopes that Britain or France might notice and do something. These hopes were dashed, however, and Maryland remained under Union rule.
The next border region was western Virginia. Although not a state itself, and thus tied to the pro-slavery, pro-secession legislature in Richmond, its views on the conflict were very different from those counties in the south and east. As mentioned above, the economy of western Virginia was (a, much smaller than its southeastern counterpart, and (b, based around mining, which gave it much stronger links to the Union than the Confederacy. As such, when Northern troops occupied the area in the last six months of 1861, the population was generally welcoming.
Further west, Missouri was generally a similar case. Whereas the north consisted of farmers and woodsmen with no stake in secession, there were a plethora of plantation owners in the south who wished to join their brethren in Alabama, Mississippi, and the like. Missouri also occupied an interesting strategic position: it controlled a substantial part of the trade and communications between California and the rest of the USA. As such, both sides coveted the state. It was ruled by Governor Claiborne F. Jackson, who harboured pro-Southern sympathies. He controlled a formation called the Missouri State Militia (MSM), which had been formed at the start of the conflict, ostensibly to protect the state's neutrality. However, the disposition of the militia- namely, along the northern, eastern, and western borders, and hardly at all along the southern one- rather gave the game away as to Governor Jackson's intentions for the state. On May 12, 1861, the prominent American commander William S. Harney attempted to sign a treaty with MSM commander Major General Sterling Price, to allow the US Army in "to protect Missouri's neutrality." Governor Jackson, however, was having none of it. Price was ordered to break off negotiations, and the Confederate Army was requested to enter to protect the state from suffering the fate of Maryland. Davis was only too happy to comply and over the next two months, over six thousand Confederate troops entered the state to co-operate with the MSM. The target of the joint MSM-Confederate force was the state capital of Springfield. On August 10, Union Captain Nathaniel Lyon's army clashed with the MSM-Confederates at Wilson's Creek. Both the Federal and Rebel forces had four brigades, while there were four MSM divisions present. The usage of the term 'division' is misleading, however, as they were significantly undermanned and undersupplied. In reality, these divisions were probably closer to brigade strength, which still left Lyon outnumbered 4:7. First the Union, then the MSM-Confederates, launched attacks at the other's lines, both of which were repulsed. The Union forces next launched a counterattack into the enemy flank, but this came at the cost of dividing their army in two, with no means of communication between one and the other. This had the predictable effect, as one of the Union columns was hit hard in the flank by the Third Louisiana Infantry Brigade and dissolved. The MSM-Confederates now continued the pursuit through the morning, and by lunchtime, Captain Lyon was dead and the field in Confederate hands.
The political implications of the Battle of Wilson's Creek were considerable. Federal armies were forced to regroup and start over again in Missouri from scratch, while on October 30, Missouri was formally admitted as a Confederate state, with Jackson as governor. Combined with events in Kentucky, this would set the pattern for events to come in the state...
Finally, there was Kentucky to consider. Kentucky was in many ways the quintessential border state- while slavery and related economic activities were essential to the state's economy (with slaves comprising nearly a fifth of the state's population), there was also a sizeable number of pro-Union elements, and attempts to bring industry over the Ohio River were occurring in 1861. Furthermore, there was widespread fear of becoming another Maryland, and being subject to Federal occupation and martial law. This possibility was perfectly plausible, as Kentucky occupied an essential position. Whoever controlled it could control access to the great Mississippi River, as well as masterfully cut the vast Western expanses of the United States off from the East. Were it to enter Union hands, the state would make a masterful springboard for an invasion of Confederate Tennessee, which could then progress into an invasion of the heartland of Mississippi, North Carolina, and Alabama. Conversely, were the state to align with Richmond, Rebel forces could advance into it and threaten Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. A permanent crossing of the Ohio River by Southern troops would be every bit as devastating as a Union conquest of Tennessee. As such, Abraham Lincoln's famous remark that "I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky." was well-founded, and applied in equal measure to Davis. On May 20, 1861, Kentucky officially declared its neutrality. It would fight both Union and Confederate forces should they infringe on the state's territory. When some in Confederate circles began to debate the merits of a potential invasion of the state, Davis over-ruled them. The CSA was popular amongst many in the state: let them resist a Yankee invasion and align to Richmond, as opposed to throwing away potential supporters by invading their homeland and having to fight them. As such, Kentuckian neutrality was to hold firm for the rest of 1861, and indeed throughout the entirety of 1862 and beyond. Kentucky was not recognised as a Confederate state, and Confederate volunteers from the state were directed into Tennessee regiments. As the rest of the American Republic tore itself in two, Kentucky remained in a bizarre state of neutrality. Trade with both the Union and Confederacy existed, with US and CS currency both circulating freely. In a light touch, Kentucky even became the only place during the war to establish an exchange rate for US and CS currency: 1:1. As the conflict known in Washington as the Civil War and in Richmond as the Second War of Independence heated up, Kentucky sat back, counting its blessings that it did not suffer the fate of the other states caught in the crossfire...
Part 1: First Battles
By the end of June 1861, it was inescapably clear that Lincoln's attempts to preserve the Union intact by peaceful means had failed. The Confederate States of America had been formed, with Jefferson Davis as President, a capital in Richmond, and a Constitution in the works. Whether or not Lincoln liked it, there was not a series of insurgents to be stamped out down South. There was a nation to be conquered.
The Union high command saw success right around the corner in the first few months of the war. In their eyes, a short, sharp, powerful blow into northeastern Virginia would blow the Army of Northeastern Virginia to smithereens, take Richmond, and force the Confederacy to capitulate. To that effect, Brigadier General Irvin McDowell led his forces a short distance from Washington, DC. to the town of Manassas, starting what would become known in Union circles after the fact as the Battle of Bull Run, and in Confederate ones as the Battle of Manassas. Both sides expected a quick and thrilling victory: in fact, some civilians from Washington, DC. and Manassas both came to view the battle, cheering and as happy and carefree as though it were a football match. McDowell started things off on the wrong foot straight away by launching a failed attack on the left of the Confederate forces. The defending Confederate troika of PGT Beauregard, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and Joe Johnston managed to repulse the attack, and the battle dragged on. In the early afternoon, numerous junior Federal commanders tied themselves down in attacks on Rebel positions on Henry Hill, a local piece of high ground, and it was then that the Confederates unleashed their counterattack. As the Union armies attempted to shove south-east, Colonel JEB Stuart's cavalry charged north into the Union right. The broken Federal forces fled, leaving Manassas solidly in Confederate hands and the eager Washingtonians fleeing in panic. Triumphant Rebel yells scattered across the plain for the rest of the day. With the field in Confederate hands, the first major threat to the CSA had been quelled. There was now little threat to Richmond, at least in the short term, and some in Union circles feared an attack on Washington, DC. The Confederates, however, had other plans...
Following the fiasco (from the Northern perspective, at least) at First Manassas, the Union reshuffled its command. A new force was created, the so-called Army of the Potomac, under the command of Major General George B. McClellan, who would ultimately become one of the most important figures in the fight for the Union. The Army of the Potomac had responsibility for defending Washington, DC., as well as ensuring that the Army of Northern Virginia did not try to break out into Maryland or the Delmarva peninsula. However, they need not have worried. Robert E. Lee, McClellan's opposite number, was uninterested in a knockout blow for the remainder of 1861, content to build his Army of Northern Virginia and make his move in 1862. Several skirmishes and minor battles took place in western Virginia, which had considerable pro-Union sympathies, as its population consisted largely of impoverished miners and small farmers, for whom trade with Yankee states was an essential pillar of the economy and saw no need to fight and die for slavery. This had the effect of shoving Rebel lines southeast in the state. Western Virginia, along with Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, and Kentucky was seen as a border region- namely, one which permitted slavery, but was undecided about committing to the Union or Confederacy. Jefferson Davis's insightful decision as to what to do about these states made in the summer of 1861 would have major implications on the war.
The border regions, as listed above, were all wavering. Some reluctantly joined the Union, some were occupied militarily, others were of divided loyalties and fought mini-civil wars of their own, and one officially declared neutrality. These all merit examination, as they would have key implications in the 1862 fighting and beyond. The first of these states was Delaware. Delaware had been a slave state before the war, and slaveowners had considerable power over the state's economy and politics. Before the war, a large portion of Delaware's economy had consisted, like Virginia's, Maryland's, etc, of trading cotton for finished goods and currency on the world markets. Nonetheless, Delaware was also further north enough for there to be a strong pro-Union sentiment, and Yankee-funded industries were developing in the state. Although during the last days of 1860 and first of 1861, some voices had called for Delaware to join the new Confederacy, the governor of the state had declared firmly for the North, and although some Delawareans were suitably angry at this to leave the state and join Rebel regiments being assembled in Virginia, the state remained with the Union.
The second border state was Maryland. Maryland, like Delaware, had a mixed economy of slave-based agriculture and Northern-funded industry, and its population was divided as regards their attitudes to secession on similar lines. However, unlike Delaware, Maryland occupied an essential strategic position. It touched upon Washington, DC., meaning that if it joined Virginia in secession, the US capital would be encircled and would no doubt not last long in the conflict. As such, whereas Delaware was given a chance to side with the Union, Lincoln was taking no chances here. On May 13, 1861, Maryland had been placed under US martial law and had habeas corpus suspended, a state of affairs which caused much anger towards Lincoln amongst the state's population. Throughout the summer and autumn of 1861, Richmond moved to exploit this discontent. Davis made all sorts of noises on the world stage about the "Yankee oppression" in the hopes that Britain or France might notice and do something. These hopes were dashed, however, and Maryland remained under Union rule.
The next border region was western Virginia. Although not a state itself, and thus tied to the pro-slavery, pro-secession legislature in Richmond, its views on the conflict were very different from those counties in the south and east. As mentioned above, the economy of western Virginia was (a, much smaller than its southeastern counterpart, and (b, based around mining, which gave it much stronger links to the Union than the Confederacy. As such, when Northern troops occupied the area in the last six months of 1861, the population was generally welcoming.
Further west, Missouri was generally a similar case. Whereas the north consisted of farmers and woodsmen with no stake in secession, there were a plethora of plantation owners in the south who wished to join their brethren in Alabama, Mississippi, and the like. Missouri also occupied an interesting strategic position: it controlled a substantial part of the trade and communications between California and the rest of the USA. As such, both sides coveted the state. It was ruled by Governor Claiborne F. Jackson, who harboured pro-Southern sympathies. He controlled a formation called the Missouri State Militia (MSM), which had been formed at the start of the conflict, ostensibly to protect the state's neutrality. However, the disposition of the militia- namely, along the northern, eastern, and western borders, and hardly at all along the southern one- rather gave the game away as to Governor Jackson's intentions for the state. On May 12, 1861, the prominent American commander William S. Harney attempted to sign a treaty with MSM commander Major General Sterling Price, to allow the US Army in "to protect Missouri's neutrality." Governor Jackson, however, was having none of it. Price was ordered to break off negotiations, and the Confederate Army was requested to enter to protect the state from suffering the fate of Maryland. Davis was only too happy to comply and over the next two months, over six thousand Confederate troops entered the state to co-operate with the MSM. The target of the joint MSM-Confederate force was the state capital of Springfield. On August 10, Union Captain Nathaniel Lyon's army clashed with the MSM-Confederates at Wilson's Creek. Both the Federal and Rebel forces had four brigades, while there were four MSM divisions present. The usage of the term 'division' is misleading, however, as they were significantly undermanned and undersupplied. In reality, these divisions were probably closer to brigade strength, which still left Lyon outnumbered 4:7. First the Union, then the MSM-Confederates, launched attacks at the other's lines, both of which were repulsed. The Union forces next launched a counterattack into the enemy flank, but this came at the cost of dividing their army in two, with no means of communication between one and the other. This had the predictable effect, as one of the Union columns was hit hard in the flank by the Third Louisiana Infantry Brigade and dissolved. The MSM-Confederates now continued the pursuit through the morning, and by lunchtime, Captain Lyon was dead and the field in Confederate hands.
The political implications of the Battle of Wilson's Creek were considerable. Federal armies were forced to regroup and start over again in Missouri from scratch, while on October 30, Missouri was formally admitted as a Confederate state, with Jackson as governor. Combined with events in Kentucky, this would set the pattern for events to come in the state...
Finally, there was Kentucky to consider. Kentucky was in many ways the quintessential border state- while slavery and related economic activities were essential to the state's economy (with slaves comprising nearly a fifth of the state's population), there was also a sizeable number of pro-Union elements, and attempts to bring industry over the Ohio River were occurring in 1861. Furthermore, there was widespread fear of becoming another Maryland, and being subject to Federal occupation and martial law. This possibility was perfectly plausible, as Kentucky occupied an essential position. Whoever controlled it could control access to the great Mississippi River, as well as masterfully cut the vast Western expanses of the United States off from the East. Were it to enter Union hands, the state would make a masterful springboard for an invasion of Confederate Tennessee, which could then progress into an invasion of the heartland of Mississippi, North Carolina, and Alabama. Conversely, were the state to align with Richmond, Rebel forces could advance into it and threaten Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. A permanent crossing of the Ohio River by Southern troops would be every bit as devastating as a Union conquest of Tennessee. As such, Abraham Lincoln's famous remark that "I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky." was well-founded, and applied in equal measure to Davis. On May 20, 1861, Kentucky officially declared its neutrality. It would fight both Union and Confederate forces should they infringe on the state's territory. When some in Confederate circles began to debate the merits of a potential invasion of the state, Davis over-ruled them. The CSA was popular amongst many in the state: let them resist a Yankee invasion and align to Richmond, as opposed to throwing away potential supporters by invading their homeland and having to fight them. As such, Kentuckian neutrality was to hold firm for the rest of 1861, and indeed throughout the entirety of 1862 and beyond. Kentucky was not recognised as a Confederate state, and Confederate volunteers from the state were directed into Tennessee regiments. As the rest of the American Republic tore itself in two, Kentucky remained in a bizarre state of neutrality. Trade with both the Union and Confederacy existed, with US and CS currency both circulating freely. In a light touch, Kentucky even became the only place during the war to establish an exchange rate for US and CS currency: 1:1. As the conflict known in Washington as the Civil War and in Richmond as the Second War of Independence heated up, Kentucky sat back, counting its blessings that it did not suffer the fate of the other states caught in the crossfire...
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