"The Footsteps of Illustrious Men"- USA GC AAR

[Estonianzulu]

Ugh, 5 pages of writing about one battle later, and my next update (2 updates in reality, too many images) are ready. I'll post them up tomorrow or Monday.

This is what happens when Im stuck in my office with nothing to do for 8 days of 8 hours straight.

[stnylan]

While I am sure it is no fun for you, at least is allows us to enjoy the fruits of your boredom!

So the Confederacy has problems beyond just the Union. Those internal quarrels sound nasty.

[Estonianzulu]

The Battle of Shiloh I
--

When Senator Carlisle fled Virginia for Washington D.C. he brought with him an entire new front to the war. The heavy mountain regions of western Virginia were not designed in such a way to provide easy combat, especially from Virginia. For soldiers of the Confederacy to cross into the new “state”, they needed to pass through the Blue Ridge Mountains into hostile country. Many of the mountain men felt foreigners when compared to the men who lived further east, and where willing to fight to keep the invaders out. Samuel Cooper, the highest ranking officer in the Confederate Army, was tasked to create a plan to “liberate” West Virginia.

Cooper turned this task over to Braxton Bragg. Bragg was a North Carolina soldier who had rose to fame during the early months of the war thanks to his strict discipline and attention to detail. Bragg was given command of the Army of Tennessee and ordered to drive into West Virginia. Bragg’s first task was repelling the Union forces that faced him. Across the field from Bragg was perhaps the greatest General of the war, Albert Sidney Johnston. Johnston was a Southerner, but when his adopted home of Texas had sided with the Union he accepted command under the Northern armies. Johnston was given command of the Army of the Ohio and ordered to pacify Kentucky and invade Tennessee.

This was no simple task. A series of daring raids by a Confederate cavalry officer, Nathan Bedford Forrest, set Johnston back seriously. Demands for men to be sent east depleted his army further. Elon J. Farnsworth was ordered to take his cavalry and root out Forrest. Although the Confederate cavalryman was never caught, his forces were hurt by the counter incursions of Farnsworth. Eventually Forrest and his men were forced back into Tennessee and Johnston earned a brief respite. Under heavy pressure from Washington, Johnston was forced to march south against Bragg.


Albert Sidney Johnston

The result was the unfortunate battle of Shiloh. Johnston’s invasion of Tennessee was well planned, but failed when it came to action. First Farnsworth rushed in to disrupt and delay. Johnston then ordered William T. Sherman to take a quarter of the Army and meet up with the small Army of the Missouri, which captured Union City and Dyersburg quickly. Sherman then marched towards Jackson, and threatened Memphis. At this point Bragg was forced to order General William Joseph Hardee to meet Sherman. When Bragg split his force, Johnston struck. Marching at blinding speed, Johnston marched against the city of Nashville. Bragg, realizing what had happened, marched to meet him.

They engaged outside Nashville, but the city fell to Union forces quickly and Bragg ordered his men to fall back and meet up with Hardee. In the meantime Bragg sent men to delay Sherman at Jackson before marching south. Sherman gave chase, not realizing how large a force had assembled before him. Johnston meanwhile was marching south across the open Tennessee country. When he captured the forts at Columbia, he was given access to the entire breadth of the state thanks to the rivers that ran through it. Johnston, realizing that Sherman would be overwhelmed and cut off, marched to his aid. The battle fell to the small town of Pittsburgh Landing, near the Shiloh Church.



Confederate forces were using the river port of Pittsburgh Landing as a demarcation point. What few naval vessels they had were driving up the Tennessee to give support to Bragg as he made to push Sherman back from the river and back into Missouri. Meanwhile the men under Hardee would go north and slam into the Union flank. Sherman was trapped. If he fled, he would leave both forces to keep Johnston from taking the river. If he staid put, he was leaving himself open for a nasty beating while Johnston crossed the river.

Johnston knew this was the predicament and spurred his men on in hopes of reaching the battlefield before Sherman could be overwhelmed. Meanwhile he called for Rear Admiral William Radford to drive the Confederate naval forces back and take control of the river. Sherman decided not to wait for Confederate forces, and went on the offensive. Outnumbered 3:1, Sherman really had not chance of defeating the Confederate army on open ground, so he caught them by surprise. He drove Hardee’s men back immediately, and forced the Confederate army to form up closer to Pittsburgh Landing and the river. With the lines thus drawn, and Johnston’s forces hastily arriving from the rear, the battle began.


The Bloodiest Day in American History

The first engagements of the battle where struck in favor of the Union, the rest of the battle on the ground would not go so smoothly. The battle on the river was another matter all together. The Confederate river boats were outdated and poorly commanded. When Rear Admiral Radford arrived, the Confederate forces were caught unaware. In a stunningly poor decision, the Confederate armada was positioned at the entrance to a break I the river. Although supported by a small gun emplacement on Diamond Island, the Confederate fleet was for the most part unprotected. When the Union fleet engaged, the battle quickly went against them.

Union gun ships came under heavy fire from the battery as they passed Crump’s Landing. Admiral Radford pressed on, driving his ships forward under the fire. The Confederates were caught off guard, and hit hard when the Union troops breached range. The C.S. Bayou City was sunk when its magazine was hit and exploded. This sent the Confederate fleet backwards in panic. The fleet split and went around Diamond Island on both ends, thus ending any supporting fire the two halves could give. The sight of the fleet fleeing caused the men on Diamond Island to spike their cannons and hide. The Union fleet gladly gave chase, pounding the Confederates as they fled. The fleet on the west bank suffered heavily, and eventually the C.S. Little Rebel, the C. S. Teaser, and the C. S. Patrick Henry would all be sunk (the Patrick Henry was scuttled by her crew as she ran aground.).


Red Lines= Confederate Naval Retreat
Blue Lines= Union Naval advance
Red Dots= Confederate Naval Losses.

While the Confederate Navy fled and the Union navy reformed to pepper the Confederate lines with artillery, Sherman began his attack. Sherman ordered General Ambrose Burnsides, who had been reassigned to command after the start of the war, to probe Confederate forces in the North and test their strength with the US IV. Meanwhile General William Hervey Lamme Wallace were ordered to make an assault across the Southern plains and drive the Confederates back away from Corinth Road and Shiloh Church. Sherman meanwhile was to command the center of the line and test the middle before swinging down to aid Wallace’s push. His primary objective was to drive the CS III back towards Pittsburgh Landing.


“Virginians! Virginians! For your land - for your homes - for your sweethearts - for your wives - for Virginia! Forward... march!”- Lewis Addison Armistead

Facing off against them where 4 commanders. In the North Lafayette McLaws held the meeting of Owl and Snake Creek, and had an excellent defensive position. Unfortunately he had a very poor field of fire across the plain, and was relatively isolated. To his south Lewis Addison Armistead commanded the CS III. His men had been the slowest to respond to the surprise attack of Sherman. Armistead’s Virginians, though surprised, responded well. They formed up quickly to fight Sherman’s men on the plains east of Owl Creek. Guarding the southern flank was General Roswell S. Ripley, a Northerner who fought for the South (mostly for his wife, a South Carolinian who would leave him during the war). Ripley commanded the CS I, while General Evander McIvor Law held the CS V.

Sherman ordered the advance across all fronts. Burnsides engaged first, but Bragg didn’t bite, and ordered McLaws to hold his ground. McLaws men avoided much of the fighting, but returned very little of their own. Sherman’s men on the other hand, got into the thick of it very quickly. He advanced into Jones’ Field, under heavy fire from Confederate small arms and artillery positioned closer to Pittsburgh Landing. Nevertheless his aggression paid off and the Virginians were forced backwards, bloody step by bloody step. Armistead eventually made his stand at the edge of the Hamburg-Savannah Road, but by that time Sherman’s advance ran out of steam and the attack faltered and stopped. Only on the right could the Union take any ground. General Wallace’s men drove a dagger into the heart of the Confederate left and smashed them back. Ripley’s division crumbled and fled en masse to Pittsburgh Landing. Law’s troops made a more orderly retreat, falling back first to Davis’ Wheatfield and then beyond the Sunken Road. It was hear that the Confederates made a brutal stand. The battle for the Hornets’ Nest, as it came to be known, was the bloodiest fighting the world had ever seen. The orchard changed hands 5 times during the day, each time with ridiculous casualties. When General Wallace fell, the Union lines disintegrated into a rabble, and the fighting became even more muddled. By days’ end the field was covered in bodies from end-to-end.


Sherman’s Attack:
Union Commanders- I: Sherman, II: Wallace, III: Hooker, IV: Burnsides, X: A. S. Johnston
Confederate Commanders- I: Ripley, II: McLaws, III: Armistead, IV: Hardee V: Law, X: Bragg

The battle for the Hornets’ Nest continued on its own, while Sherman re-issued marching orders. He once again pressed into Armistead’s force, driving him back further into the Confederate defenses. Bragg, meanwhile held Hardee’s division in reserve, hoping to plug any holes and break any major Union assault. Likewise Hardee could be used to drive off any assault from A.S. Johnston’s Union army. Unfortunately for Bragg, he was outmaneuvered. General Joseph E. Hooker, in command of the III, had crossed in the North at Crump’s Landing. They now drove hard into the Confederate flank, hoping to spring Burnsides and let him loose on the Confederate rear. At the same time the fleet had returned and began ferrying Union troops, under heaving fire, across the Tennessee River to engage Confederate forces. Bragg had to make a choice.

The choice he made was to send Johnston’s division to deal with Hooker and hold off A.S. Johnston’s forces with the men who had fallen back from Ripley’s position. The tactic worked for a while. Burnsides and Hooker did not coordinate the assault, so Hooker’s men were caught in the open as the combined might of McLaws and Hardee descended on him. Casualties were high on both sides, but Hooker had to retire from the fight as his men began to falter. Burnsides rushed over the creek as the fighting took its turn against Hooker. Hardee engaged him as McLaws divisions pulled south to aid the slowly failing Virginians under Armistead. The Confederates drove the Union out of the Hornets’ Nest in the end, and had time to reassess. Those men of Ripleys who had remained with him now joined with General Armistead. However, General Law made a decision that is still a mystery to this day. As Union forces retreated before him, he marched his men south, back to the position he held at the start of the battle.



The delay in pulling these men to defend against A.S. Johnston cost the Confederates a sure victory. Johnston was able to force his way onto the Confederate bank, even as Sherman’s men fell back. The battle came to an end with Bragg’s men abandoning the heights under pressure from Johnston. Now surrounded on 3 sides, Bragg ordered a retreat south. The US army was glad to let him go, as casualties and fatigue were both high. In the end the day went to the Union, but it was by no means a great victory. The Union lost 13,047 including General Wallace casualties and the Rebels lost 10,694. A.S. Johnston, deep in enemy territory, was forced to withdraw to Nashville and allow the Army of the Missouri and Sherman to go west back towards the border. It was a battle without any strategic gain for either side. In the end the Confederate forces had barely outnumbered the Union, but had been surprised and were fighting a 2-front battle. Johnston, bloodied, abandoned his plan to take Memphis and settled on control of Nasvhille, while Bragg retreated and gave birth to a new plan for Western Virginia.

His plan would lead to the bloodiest campaign of the war.

[stnylan]

I disagree with part of that analysis - that battle has one very important strategic result: the union can afford to loose twice as many men, while the South would still rue the loss of half of what they suffered.

[Estonianzulu]

I disagree with part of that analysis - that battle has one very important strategic result: the union can afford to loose twice as many men, while the South would still rue the loss of half of what they suffered.

Good point; I completely forgot to look into the more serious and unfortunate aspects of the manpower loss for the CSA.

Though I have to say, the most fun I've had has been with the use of Johnston for the Union.

[RGB]

That's one majorly bloody battle. And Stnylan is absolutely correct - you've got just so much more manpower.

[Lafayette53]

Great Update and AAR!

P.S. How did you get the third party?

[Estonianzulu]

RGB: The battle it raged on, though dead and dying men
Lay thick all o'er the ground, on the hill and on the glen;
And from their deadly wounds, the blood ran like a rill;
Such were the mournful sights that I saw on Shiloh Hill.

Lafayette53:Thank you! The US has a series of third parties that pop up and dissapear almost as quickly. The 1850's have the American Party, or the Know-Nothing Party. I don't remember if that particular party is coded in or if I just went in and changed the name of the party, but either way it was a surprise. It can be difficult to get the 3rd parties to take over (until the Republican Party) but, thanks to whatever choices I made with the opinion sliding items, the 3rd party jumped up and took a bite out of me.

Vincent Julien: Yes, yes it was.

[Estonianzulu]

The Bloody Hills
--

Bragg’s defeat was an expensive one. The 10,000 men lost could not easily replaced. Nevertheless, President Brown wanted action. Lee’s constant victories in Maryland left the door open for campaigns in Western Virginia. Bragg was sent 40,000 men, and ordered to leave the Army of Tennessee under the command of Hardee. Bragg, and the new Army of Western Virginia, were to march on the newly independent state of Virginia. Meanwhile, in the North, General Jackson was to take advantage of Confederate control over Cumberland and march on Western Virginia from the north. The primary objective was to disrupt the coal and mineral transfer between Western Virginia and the Ohio-Pennsylvania factories.

Jackson, having taken 20,000 men around the border, marched south towards Charleston. Jackson was an intently religious man, who believed in the sanctity of the Constitution. In his mind, enemies of the Constitution (and by proxy, the CSA, who was fighting to save the Constitution) were enemies of God and deserved no quarter. As he made his way down through Western Virginia, he destroyed everything in his path. His march was not a riotous one, as pillage was almost non-existent. In its place was the cold, calculated destruction that would come to be synonymous with his campaigns. Fields were burnt, mines were destroyed and depots blown.


Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, or to the North; Thomas “Burnt Earth” Jackson

Despite the distance of his march, Jackson reached Charleston well before Bragg, who had to march through the Southern mountain passes to reach the city. Union defenders, led by Erasmus Darwin Keyes made Bragg’s march a series of bloody skirmishes as he marched north. Keyes bled Bragg, who lost nearly 2,000 men in a series of minor skirmishes along the New River. Bragg left the small town of Blacksburg, Virginia and marched along the river up towards Charleston. The New River was a tributary of the Kanawha river, which was controlled completely by Union troops. Using the river, Keyes fled before the Confederates could ever engage. Eventually the Union government sent Keyes 35,000 men to meet up with the 10,000 he already had, and he was ordered to make a stand against Confederate forces.

Bragg was finally stopped at Beckley, where he ordered his lines drawn up and prepared for battle. Beckley sat about 37 miles south of Charleston, where Jackson was rapidly approaching, so Keyes had to be quick. Bragg and Keyes engaged on the edge of Stephen’s Lake, just west of Beckley. Keyes positioned General Joseph King Fenno Mansfield with the majority of the artillery on Harper Height. Mansfield was an old man, but steady enough. From his position he could sweep the entire lowlands with fire. Meanwhile Keyes and General Alfred Pleasonton took the rest of the Army and prepared to march around the river and engage Bragg.

Bragg meanwhile positioned his army to counter the assault. Bragg’s main line would assault Harper Heights to take the high ground and then turn on the flank and drive Keyes back. Evander McIvor Law, who had fought at Shiloh was to command the Confederate defenses alongside the river. Beside him was General James Longstreet who had been sent West with Bragg’s reinforcements. It was Longstreet who made the crucial decision, turning this battle for the Confederacy. These two were ordered to hold the Union army at all costs while Bragg stormed the heights. Stephens Lake was to guard their flank while the Union army wedged its way forward.


The Battle of Beckley

The Union charge shattered itself on the Confederate lines, while Mansfield poured shot into the marching Confederates under Bragg. It was a hard fight up the hill, and the Confederates suffered significant casualties. Meanwhile Bragg ordered what cavalry he had to flank the heights and harass Manfield’s left. When Manfield saw his soldiers firing into the woods, he feared they were firing into the Union baggage train. “You are firing on our own men!” he was heard to shout, but shortly thereafter he was slain by a Confederate sharp shooter. The loss of Mansfield caused general disarray, and allowed Bragg to take the hill. Most of the Union troops fled, but they lost 20 cannon to Confederate hands. Bragg turned the cannon and fired at the retreating Union forces.

Meanwhile Longstreet and Law held a battered line against the Union assault. When news reached General Keyes of Mansfield’s defeat, he ordered a retreat. Longstreet, sensing the momentum in swing, ordered his men to leave their defenses and chase the Union army. The sight of charging Confederate forces sent the US army back in shambles. Longstreets impetuous counter charge drove the Union forces off the field entire. When the Confederate army regrouped, nothing stood between it and Charleston, where Jackson’s army waited. In all the Confederates had lost 3,234 men, to the Union 8,943 and 20 cannon. When Keyes found Charleston cut off by Jackson, he fled west, into the wilderness towards the Ohio River. On the way, he lost another 10,000 men to desertion and disease. Keyes was removed from command, and West Virginia was once again in Southern Hands.

[RGB]

Humbling the giant, one battle at a time...

[stnylan]

As in real life - the South can manage victories out East. The West though is wide open.

[Sandino]

Jackson, having taken 20,000 men around the border, marched south towards Charleston. Jackson was an intently religious man, who believed in the sanctity of the Constitution. In his mind, enemies of the Constitution (and by proxy, the CSA, who was fighting to save the Constitution) were enemies of God and deserved no quarter. As he made his way down through Western Virginia, he destroyed everything in his path. His march was not a riotous one, as pillage was almost non-existent. In its place was the cold, calculated destruction that would come to be synonymous with his campaigns. Fields were burnt, mines were destroyed and depots blown.


Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, or to the North; Thomas “Burnt Earth” Jackson

Boo! Hiss! Come on USA, teach that Jesus Freak a lesson!

Just kidding

[Estonianzulu]

Vincent Julien:They are the badguys!

RGB: Well, a few victories do not a war win. Humbled I may be, but down and out I'm certainly not.

stnylan: The West finally gets a bit more attention in this next update.

Sandino: Welcome aboard! Hopefully senor Jackson will get a comeupence shortly.

[RGB]

Oh I'm pretty sure your victory is inevitable but at least they made a good show of it.

[Estonianzulu]

The Big Easy
--

The East was deadlocked, with Confederate forces gaining victories but Union reinforcements holding them from absolute success. Tennessee had stalled after the disastrous battle of Shiloh, and little fighting had occurred since. US forces in Texas were busing pushing the Mexicans back across the Rio Grande, and had little resources to spend battling the Cherokee raiders who rode out of the Indian Territory. The few divisions of Confederate troops in the West were busing holding back the Army of the Missouri, or trying desperately to rally support in Kansas and Nebraska. Confederate General William Barksdale led a small army North towards Colorado, hoping to rally support. His plan went awry when his men were cut off and had to fight their way back through enemy territory.

The time seemed ripe for a bold move to tilt the balance of power. That move would come from a surprising sector. General Sheridan, who had failed to do much of anything at the Battle of Leesburg, was recalled to Washington after a series of unsuccessful skirmishes with Confederate forces along the Potomac. Sheridan was tasked with seizing forts along the Southern coast of the CSA. He made his primary targets those near the Mississippi River. His first victory came in June of 1867 when he capture Fort Jackson and then Fort St. Philip after a 12 day siege. Sheridan, upon capturing the fort, called for reinforcements. He had a mind to invade and capture the state of Louisiana. Upon discovering that the Confederates could only muster 30,000 men, mostly ill trained militia, the Federal leadership sent Sheridan 25,000 extra men (with his 12,000) to begin the capture of the state.


Sheridan’s March through Louisiana

Sheridan, upon receiving these reinforcements, marched North, up the many rivers of Louisiana. His first step was New Orleans. The Mayor of New Orleans, John T. Monroe (one of the few American Party politicians still around) called upon all men in the city and its neighbors to arm themselves. He emptied all the nearby forts and took command of the rag tag army himself. Needless to say the battle was scarcely a challenge for Sheridan’s battle hardened men. After a ten minute barrage, the Confederate lines broke and fled, those few units who held were mowed down by superior US firepower and eventually surrendered. Sheridan released his prisoners and marched north, hoping to catch Monroe before he could escape.

Monroe ran beyond confederate defenses at Baton Rouge. Fearing for his city, the Mayor of Baton Rouge, and the commanding Confederate General, General Robert Ransom decided to abandon the city and make a defensive stand further north. Sheridan caught with them at New Roads, just north of Baton Rouge. The result was another Union victory as Confederate forces were too exhausted to hold the field. Heavy rains delayed Sheridan, and it took him two weeks to finally reach the reformed Confederate lines. General Ransom had been reinforced by another 10,000 men under General William Mahone. Ransom and Mahone drew up their forces to hold Sheridan at the heavily swampy town of Marksville. The Confederates now had a slight numerical advantage, but their men were low on morale and ill equipped to handle the Union army.


The Battle of Marksville

Sheridan arranged most of his men directly in the line of Confederate defenses. Meanwhile ¼ of his army was to accompany General Winfield Scott Hancock to the East, where they would use a series of pontoons to cross the lakes and swamps and get around behind the Confederate lines. Sheridan’s advance was slow and cautious, to avoid heavy casualties. General Robert Allen’s division reached the Confederate lines first, but was repelled with heavy casualties. The sight of Union forces so close sent General Ransom into a panic. He ordered a withdrawal from his position to aid the Confederate wall. This allowed Hancock to cross unmolested. When General William Whedbee Kirkland saw Ransom falling back, he took it as a command, and ordered his own division to fall back.

With half the Confederate army in retreat, Sheridan ordered another charge, and his men reached, and breached the walls. Casualties on both sides were significant, but the Confederate lines broke and fled. The Union had won the field at the cost of 6,590 casualties. The Confederates had lost 5,490, as well as thousands of weapons and a great supply of ammunition which was being housed in Alexandria. The Confederate army under Mahone reformed and tried to hold back the Union forces at the battles of Many and Mansfield, but on both occasions Sheridan was able to sweep the Confederates aside. Sheridan’s offensive finally ran out of steam at the battle of Shreveport, where the CS armies finally held firm. However, the state, by that time, was lost. By the start of November 1867, Louisiana became the first Confederate state to fall to the Union. Mahone and Ransom retreated north into Arkansas before being ordered to come East. The tide had started to turn.

[stnylan]

Yes, the West looks increasingly open.

[RGB]

Nice. I was waiting for you to finally expolit their weakness in the West.

[Estonianzulu]

The Battle of Washington
--

Lee received news of the fall of Louisiana and the invasion of Alabama with trepidation. Suddenly the Confederate heartland was under assault. Lee knew that unless the United States was knocked back, and the European enemies of the US convinced to join in, the Confederacy was doomed. Lee, along with former US President Patterson (who had moved to Virginia after being removed from office) called for an attack on US positions in Maryland. The idea had new merit, because the pacified Eastern front allowed the US to focus on a new push into Tennessee.

Lee was ordered to attempt an attack on Washington itself. Lee expressed his worries about American fortifications in the city, but his fears were overruled. President Brown and the war department felt that a push against Washington, and a victory anywhere near the city would result in Confederate gains and recognition. Lee was worried about the potential trapping of his army against the Sea. He instead wanted to march past Washington into Pennsylvania. This would force the Union to chase him, and he could chose the ground on which he made his stand. Lee was overruled.



So, in November of 1867, the Army of Northern Virginia crossed into Maryland. Meade, who was still in command of the divisions based around Washington, went into a panic. He had the capital evacuated as the Confederate guns began pounding US forts. Meade, deciding to take the battle to the enemy, ordered General Pope to join him and drive Lee back into Virginia. Pope, abandoning Leesburg, marched east with haste. The battle was to pit 65,000 Union men, against 49,000 Confederates.

Lee, upon learning that the Union army was moving, halted. He saw no reason to tire his army out to rush and meet the US army, when it was coming to him. Lee positioned himself North of Cotting Lake, a lake formed by the Potomac river. Lee, in a bold move, decided to straddle the river. With the time he had to prepare, he ordered the bridges blown, except for three, and positioned his forces at those three bridges. Meanwhile he secured the southern high ground and waited for the Union army to arrive. Richard S. Ewell was ordered to defend the far side of the river and hold his ground against whatever Union assault came. He held the river and was tasked with ensuring no Union army crossed it.



Meade arrived and immediately attacked. He knew his numbers far outweighed the Confederate’s. He ordered General Franklin and General Pope to move forward and assault confederate positions. Franklins’ men rushed into the Confederate defenses with great aplomb. Such was the strength of their charge that the Confederate lines under George Pickett and Jubal Early began to waver. Pope’s men had a harder time of it. Pope began marching south towards Lee under heavy fire from Lee’s position. Pope himself was shot from his horse and injured. As he was taken from the field, his men lost heart and fled. Lee, seeing the entire flank begin to crumble, charged, the retreat became a rout. Franklin, worried that his men would be struck in the flank, turned much of his army. He then marched east across an open field of North-South fire to reach the retreating forces of Pope. His march, though costly, brought him to the Union right just in time to stop the bleeding and defend the retreating men.

Meanwhile General Grant was issued orders to take the Northern most bridge at any cost. Even under heavy fire his men preformed well and managed to seize the bridge. General Ewell was unable to press Grant back, but Meade ordered his retreat nonetheless. Rather than just leave the bridge intact, Grant detonated gunpowder and sunk it, trapping Ewell beyond the river for a time. Instead of trying to ford the river, Ewell marched south to reinforce Early and Pickett. His men, many unscathed, then crossed with Early and Pickett and drove into the thinning lines of Franklin’s forces.



With Franklin thus engaged, Lee took on the weakened forces of Pope and the newly arrived men under Meade. With his cannons in support from the higher ground, Lee pounded the Union lines, and the already damaged units fled. It only took one final push to drive the Union forces from the field. Grant was able to delay, at heavy cost, the Confederate pursuit, so the Union army was able to escape north. However, the Union soldiers were hounded by Confederate cavalry. The sight of sabers sent the broken army into a full rout, back across the Maryland border. Soon the number of men who threw down their rifles and fled, outnumbered those still brave enough to fight.

The wounded General Pope was taken prisoner as his wagon was abandoned. Soon, Washington D.C. suffered the same fate. Union troops fled past the city, and the sight of thousands of fleeing soldiers drove many within the forts near the city to flight. Washington was open to Lee, who marched his bruised Army across the river and into the city, only needing to swat a few points of resistance away. Lee prevented his men from pillaging, but did permit a Confederate flag to fly from the White House. On Christmas Day, 1866, Confederate President Albert G. Brown held a ball in celebration in the White House, both a British General and a French politician were in attendance.

[stnylan]

I did not expect that. Not good for the north.

[Alex Borhild]

This does not indeed bode well for the North. Were it not for the loss of the capital, the North might have gained the upper hand were it not for the loss of morale following the loss of the Capitol.