With
Lee now in the ascendancy and the newly formed Union “Army of Virginia” being dangerously isolated by
McClellan’s failure the southern general espied this opportunity to advance from Virginia onto Union soil. Seeing failure by his general upon the peninsula,
President Lincoln, gave
John Pope command of the new force and ordered him to use his charges to protect Washington and the Shenandoah Valley.
Lee saw that
McClellan was no longer a threat and felt no compulsion to remain, with this in mind
Lee sent
Jackson to Gordonsville to block
Pope and protect the railroad that he sought to capture. Seeing the opportunity to destroy the entire force under
Pope, the general sent Hill with another 12,000 men while trying to distract
McClellan and stop reinforcement of
Pope. Within the theatre there now started a period of probing by both
Jackson and
Pope as they sought to advance upon each other while seeking an advantage. Eventually
Jackson managed to slip by the Unionists and devastate the massive Federal supply dump at Manassas, the compelled
Pope to retreat with
Jackson taking up position behind an unfinished railroad upon the same field where the First Battle of Manassas had occurred.
Jackson drew
Pope into battle by attacking a passing Yankee column on August 28th,
Pope became convinced that he had trapped
Jackson and concentrated the bulk of his army against him. The day later
Pope ordered mass assaults upon the position of
Jackson that ended with many bloody defeats along the line of attack as
Longstreet joined up forming
Jackson’s right flank.
Pope renewed his attacks on August 30th seemingly without knowledge that
Longstreet had appeared the previous evening. When massed Confederate artillery devastated a Union assault,
Longstreet's wing of 28,000 men counterattacked in the largest simultaneous mass assault of the war. The Union left flank was crushed and the army driven back to Bull Run, an effective Union rearguard was the only thing that separated a bloody defeat from a decisive Confederate victory.
The Army of North Virginia crossed the Potomac immediately to be split,
Longstreet was to proceede to Hagerstown, while
Jackson was to capture the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
McClellan moved from Washington with around 87,000 men toward Fredrick, where soldiers discovered the complete plans for
Lee’s campaign. The Army of the Potomac moved toward South Mountain, where they were able to swat aside the numerically inferior rebels and now
McClellan was in a position to destroy
Lee’s army. The southern general decided to make a stand at Sharpsburg and on September 26th
McClellan attacked the southerners decisively. While
Hooker’s corps mounted a powerful assault upon the Confederate left,
Burnside managed to roll up
Lee’s right, only the opportune arrival
A.P. Hill's division was able to save the Army of North Virginia, but the battle of Antietam as was the invasion of the north.
President Lincoln used this opportunity to announce his Emancipation Proclamation;
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/prelim1.jpg
The reaction of the south to the defeat and the proclamation was almost to buckle,
President Davis, at once understood that drastic action was necessary and started to act, he immediately positioned himself as Supreme Commander in Chief of Confederate forces, knowing that he would never be able to push his new idea through Congress he had given himself the power to issue a “Wartime Chief of Staff Proclamation”, but he bided his time and awaited a portent to give him the timing he desperately needed.
Lee was soon to come to his aid, after Antietam he, along with several other southern generals, started to call for new recruits to come from freed slaves.
Lincoln removed the cautions
McClellan from command and gave the army to
Burnside, who had fought an indifferent action at Antietam, and pressured him to start an invasion of the south.
Burnside rose quickly to the task and decided to inflict a serious strategic defeat upon
Lee and the south. He hoped to outflank
Robert E. Lee by quickly crossing the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg and placing himself in between the Confederate army and their capital but he was compelled to wait due to supply and administrative difficulties. The Confederates managed to use the time
Burnside took to cross the river fortifying their position upon the opposite side of the River, on December 13th crossed, launching massive frontal assaults against Marye's Heights on Lee's left flank. The waves of blue broke upon the grey positions, but the overall effect was of a bloody and drawn out defeat. In January of the next year, 1863, the Army of the Potomac was forced into a humiliating retreat named “Mud March”,
Burnside was relieved of command which was now given to
General Hooker who spent the remaining winter re-supplying and training his troops ready for the next season, he then planned to engage
Lee while his cavalry under
General Stoneman and other corps were to slip past
Lee’s position and catch him within a vice.
The plan was initially executed well and
Hooker made good progress at the expense of the southern forces, but he lost his confidence and withdrew back to Chancellorsville where
Lee mounted an ambitious and audacious flanking manoeuvre. He split 20,000 men under
Stonewall Jackson and had him proceed to the right wing of
Hookers position and assault him there. The stunned
Hooker fought tooth and nail for his position, but
Lee kept him pinned and managed to send some divisions to deal with a successful attack by
Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick that had threatened his rear. The victory was a bloody on for the Confederacy and cost
Lee almost a quarter of his army, but the victory opened up the north for invasion again. With
Lee again calling for ‘slave’ soldiers and the south’s fortunes on the rise but in difficult circumstances,
President Davis realised the time was now and announced his Proclamation of The War at a speech in Richmond;
…many in the North have cried foul upon our fine nation, they have announced that this bitter struggle is for the fate of slaves but I tell you gentlemen what I tell the world this war is nothing to do with the institution of slavery or our treatment of the Negro! They have perfidiously invaded our peaceful land seeking to enslave our proud sons; they care not for the slave but for their own power…
…the Negro slave has always been cherished by their owners and this great nation, they had worked hard and done us proud and we know that they shall do all we ask of them. As such I make an offer to our friends this day, Negro brother rise up and fight for your country, come and swear allegiance to the ‘Stars and Bars’ and your sacrifice shall make you free!…
The Battle of Fredericksburg
The reaction to this was immense, to the international community it had shown that the south fought for survival and not the institution of slavery and Britain and France were quick to send positive messages to President Davis, tellingly these messages proclaimed the virtue of not just the Confederate cause bat also the ‘Confederate Nation’. Davis now knew that formal recognition was only a grand military victory away. Internally the reaction was not as pleasant, many were in favour of impeaching Davis, but they were reassured that this was not emancipation of all slaves just freedom for those who would lay down their lives for the Confederacy. Lastly the recruiters for the rebel army were almost overwhelmed with rank after rank of slave trying to enrolee in the CS military.
As lee began moving north,
Joseph Hooker sent cavalry forces to find Lee that on June 9 clashed at Brandy Station with
JEB Stuart’s CS Cavalry, the engagement ended inconclusively.
Lee began moving his army northwest from Fredericksburg into the Shenandoah Valley, where the Blue Ridge Mountains screened their northward movements.
Hooker started his entire army in pursuit, but on June 28,
President Lincoln lost patience with him and relieved him of command, replacing him with
George G. Meade. As they crossed the Potomac and entered Frederick, Maryland, the Confederates were spread out over a considerable distance in Pennsylvania, with
Jackson across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg and
Longstreet behind the mountains in Chambersburg. His cavalry, under
JEB Stuart, was engaged in a wide-ranging raid around the eastern flank of the Union army uncharacteristically out of touch with headquarters, leaving
Lee blind as to his enemy's position and intentions.
Lee had to concentrate his army before it could be defeated in detail. He ordered all units to move to the general vicinity of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The Battle of Chancellorsville
Lee was about to discover that he had stumbled upon the entire Army of the Potomac, and that this next battle along with the one developing around Vicksburg would almost certainly seal the fate of the divided continent. Which way these engagements would go were uncertain to everyone, only time would tell…