first bull run & other random things alice cho. first bull run union wants to take control of...
TRANSCRIPT
First Bull Run & Other Random Things
Alice Cho
First Bull Run
Union wants to take control of the Confederate capital – Richmond, VA
July 21-The Union led by McDowell and the Confederate led by P.G.T. Beauregard meet at Bull Run Creek• Union pushes Confederates back
• UNTIL 12,000 Confederate troops led by Johnston arrive from Harper’s Ferry
First Bull Run (contd.)
Union retreated and went back to Washington, but the victorious Confederates were too disorganized to pursue.
4,700 casualties total McDowell replaced by McClellan
• McClellan was able to train troops faster
Confederate Territories
About 750,000 sq. mi.• Union had a hard time strategizing
• Best way was to divide and conquer
• Led to the Anaconda Plan-blockade of Confederate seaports to choke off the flow of foreign funds and arms, while battering away at Richmond
• Union forces in the west could penetrate the <3 of the Confederacy at key points (internal waterways-effective modes of transportation)
The War in the West
Union General Ulysses S. Grant seized 2 forts that guarded Tennessee River from his base in Kentucky• Feb. 1862-attacked Fort Henry and Fort
Donnellson
The War in the West (contd.)
Decided to move south down to the Tennessee River• Generals Grant and Don Carlos Buell were to
join forces and move down to Memphis• Vital railhead & supply line uniting the East & West
of Confederate
SURPRISE!- attack by Albert Sidney Johnston & Beauregard at Shiloh
The War in the West (contd.)
April 6- 55,000 Confederates launched an assault, pushing back the Union Army• SURPRISE!- Buell’s 15,000 troops arrived at
night, so they attacked in the morning
Battle at Shiloh• Union=13,000 deaths
• Confederates=10,000 deaths
The War in the East
March 1862 – McClellan used a ferry to carry his 50,000 men to Fortress Monroe (on the coast of Virginia)
Union became threatened by the Virginia (gunboat)
SO, the Union brought out their own gunboat, the Monitor
Standoff resulted.
The War in the East (contd.)
McClellan’s force was undermanned(121, 500) & they used deception and delay to hide weakness. • They were 5 miles away from Richmond, but Johnston
did a counterattack—no reinforcement
Confederate command fell to Robert E. Lee• Launched series of attack (Seven Days of Battle) at
McClellan
Richmond=FAILURE. :[
Second Battle of Bull Run (Aug 28&30, 1862
“Stonewall” Jackson used Shenandoah Mts. to screen movements• Prevented McDowell’s 30,000 from marching
to Richmond
Pope (Union) tried to go south to Richmond, but was defeated at Cedar Mt. on Aug 9
Went back to Washington. :[
Domestic & Political Issues
Initially, the war was about preserving Union; it soon became a war about slavery
August 1861 – General John C. Fremont (Union Army commander in St. Louis) declared slaves owned by Confederates in Missouri were free
May 1862 – General David Hunter declared all slaves owned by Confederates were free in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina
Confiscation Acts- seizure of all Confederate property-including slaves- behind Union=FREE
First Blood to the South: Bull Run, 1861 – Brian Holden Reid
Greatest battle fought on American soil Began with the bombardment of Fort
Sumter on April 12, 1861 Union responded by calling for a
volunteer army (75,000 for 3 months; May 3rd called for 42,000)
Contd.
Confederacy changes capital from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond, VA
This move= more focus on VA Union wanted to get to Richmond before
Confederates• Provoked the hysterical cry of “On to
Richmond”
Contd.
Politics governed the workings of this campaign
Military action had been resorted to because American political mechanisms had broken down
Politicians felt that they have been betrayed by the states that seceded• HYSTERIA!!
Contd.
May 1861= McDowell become commander of the Army of the Potomac• He was solemn, humorless, prone to over-
eating, but competent
• Labored under the intense strain of political pressure
Contd.
Hugh Brogan wrote that Americans expected everything to happen quickly
People expected McDowell to end war• Made plans to advance towards Richmond
and to pin down enemy commanded by Johnston in Shenandoah Valley• Plans too complex for bad staff
• Inexperienced-bad staff• COMMAND SYSTEM=CHAOTIC
Untitled. :]
War would be determined by moral, and not material, factors• South felt that they were morally superior
First Bull Run
North thought battle went well, at first Beauregard had his forces in the center
and on the right of Bull Run• Johnston influenced Beauregard to move
forces to the left so that he could counter McDowell’s move• Federal’s strength usually in center and on the right
Reasons for Union defeat
Main feature of this battle was the complete lack of preparation on both sides for sustained military operations
Amount of money for militia was not a lot After Sumter, they raised volunteers
instead of expanding regular army• Volunteer troops-undisciplined and poorly
trained
Untitled. :]
North overconfident before Bull Run & South after it.• Hubris=BAD
Both were not experiencing the realities of war
Wheeeee. :]
Spring of 1862- Peninsular Campaign• Ended with politicians blaming one another for
urging McDowell on to his premature advance
• Tried to discredit Lincoln and his Cabinet The First Battle of Bull Run had revealed
starkly the illusions and false expectations cherished about the character of warfare in the mid-19th century.