Battle of Bull Run
American Civil War
Virgina had just cast its lot with the southern states and the capital of the south was
moved from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond, Virgina; barely one-hundred miles between the Washington D.C. and Richmond. In the Spring of 1861 Lincoln could see that his 90-day volunteers' terms of enlistment
were about to expire. During this time Lincoln place Brigadier-General Irven
Mc-Dowell at the head of the group. He ordered the men to attack the Confederate
Capital. McDowellwas unhappy with his untrained troops so he proposed to have
the troops go to Manassas, Virgina to attack the 22,000 Confederates stationed there.
The delays in the advance allowed the General to add another 9,000 troops to his total.
On July 21, 1861 the two amateur armies faced each other. Although McDowells
intial plan was a success the stubborn Stonewall Jackson held his position and sent the battered union army back to Washington. The battle would have surely been lost if the Union was better trained or the Confederates
gave up their position.
Early's Washington Raid
American Civil War
Lee noticed that if he could divert some of Grants strength from his front he might be
able to attack him head on. Early moved on June 7, 1864 and on June 18th defeated
Hunter's Union Forces at Lynchburg. On June 27, Early reorganized his forces
for a thrust northward at Staunton; he had with him 4,000 Calalry and 10,000 infantry.
The Battle of Monocacy wuld follow soon and with Grants reinforcements the Union has
a good chance at defeating Early. Unfortantly the Union army was very disoragnized
and Early was able to burn Chambersburg, Penn.
Some Naval Info
American Civil War
In the early years of the war the Confederates navy was a bit stronger than the unions.
The Union would use cargo ships and even fish boats to attack the confederates which often ended up in a disorganized
volley of fire. Most of the time the Union had costly battles that could have
been easily avoided if the strategic battle was stronger.
