This Week In The Civil War: Sep 3-9, 1862

Wednesday, September 3:  General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia began moving to relieve Federal pressure on Virginia by invading the North. The troops moved west toward Leesburg and occupied Winchester. In Washington, Federal General John Pope conferred with President Abraham Lincoln and General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck. Pope delivered a report accusing General Fitz John Porter of disobeying orders and General George McClellan of failing to support him in the Battle of Second Bull Run. In the Dakota Territory, Sioux Indians unsuccessfully attacked Fort Abercrombie as part of their uprising against Federal authority. In Kentucky, Confederates under General Edmund Kirby Smith continued their invasion by occupying the state capital of Frankfort.

Thursday, September 4:  Lee’s Confederates began crossing the Potomac River into Maryland; the crossing continued for three days. Various skirmishes ensued as politicians conferred in Washington, Federals evacuated Frederick, Maryland, and McClellan began reorganizing the Army of the Potomac. In Minnesota, Federals skirmished with Sioux Indians at Hutchinson. In Kentucky, John Hunt Morgan’s Confederate raiders joined Edmund Kirby Smith’s men. In western Virginia, Confederates under General A.G. Jenkins crossed the Ohio River for a brief northern invasion.

Friday, September 5:  In Washington, Halleck informed Pope that his Army of Virginia would be consolidated into McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. McClellan began gathering Federal troops around Washington as Robert E. Lee continued advancing on Frederick, Maryland. In Indiana, Governor Morton called on citizens to form militias along the Ohio River in defense of a potential Confederate invasion. At Sparta, Tennessee, Bragg proclaimed, “Alabama is redeemed. Tennesseans! your capital and State are almost restored without firing a gun. You return conquerors. Kentuckians! the first great blow has been struck for your freedom.” Meanwhile, General Don Carlos Buell’s Federals abandoned northern Alabama, falling back to Murfreesboro and Nashville.

Saturday, September 6:  In Maryland, Confederates under General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson occupied Frederick. Federal cavalry skirmished with the Confederate invaders over the next nine days. Robert E. Lee had expected to gain recruits in Maryland, but Frederick was abandoned and an observer wrote, “everything partook of a churchyard appearance.” In Virginia, Federals evacuated the important supply center at Aquia Creek near Fredericksburg. John Pope was assigned to command the new Department of the Northwest, which consisted of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and the Nebraska and Dakota territories. His main task was to suppress the Sioux Indian uprising. In the Dakota Territory, the Sioux unsuccessfully attacked Fort Abercrombie a second time.

Sunday, September 7:  George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac began slowly moving northward from Washington, protecting the capital and Baltimore while unaware of Robert E. Lee’s location. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Hagerstown, Maryland experienced “tremendous excitement,” with frantic people preparing for a Confederate invasion. The Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry was isolated by Lee’s forces. President Lincoln worried about events in both the eastern and western theaters, asking “Where is Gen. Bragg” and “What about Harper’s Ferry?” U.S.S. Essex battled Port Hudson batteries on the Mississippi River. Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote to Robert E. Lee, Braxton Bragg, and Edmund Kirby Smith that they should inform northerners “That the Confederate Government is waging the war solely for self-defence, that is has no design of conquest or any other purpose than to secure peace and the abandonment by the United States of its pretensions to govern a people who have never been their subjects and who prefer self-government to a Union with them.”

Monday, September 8:  Apprehension intensified in Maryland and Pennsylvania, as Robert E. Lee’s Confederates continued advancing. Lee proclaimed to Maryland residents: “The people of the Confederate States have long watched with the deepest sympathy the wrongs and outrages that have been inflicted upon the citizens… We know no enemies among you, and will protect all, of every opinion. It is for you to decide your destiny freely and without constraint. This army will respect your choice, whatever it may be.” President Lincoln asked George McClellan at Rockville, Maryland, “How does it look now?” General Nathaniel Banks assumed command of the Washington defenses. Various skirmishing occurred in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Tuesday, September 9:  At Frederick, Robert E. Lee issued Special Orders No. 191, calling for “Stonewall” Jackson to attack Harpers Ferry and General James Longstreet’s corps to advance on Boonesborough, Maryland. These orders would later be found by Federal troops and forwarded to George McClellan. General Samuel P. Heintzelman was given command of the Washington defenses south of the Potomac.

Source: The Civil War Day-by-Day by E.B. Long and Barbara Long (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1971)

This Week in the Civil War: Aug 27-Sep 2, 1862

Wednesday, August 27:  In Virginia, the Federals under General John Pope withdrew from the Rappahannock River after being outflanked by advancing Confederates. Pope shifted his troops north toward the railroad junction at Manassas, where General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s Confederates were destroying Federal supplies. Pope was confused about Jackson’s purpose, and at the same time General Robert E. Lee was moving north with the rest of his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to join Jackson. President Abraham Lincoln had no communication with Pope because all telegraph lines to Washington had been cut, and half of Lee’s army was between Pope and the Federal capital. Meanwhile, General George McClellan’s Federal Army of the Potomac began trickling into Washington from the Virginia Peninsula. In Tennessee, skirmishing intensified as Confederate General Braxton Bragg began an excursion to recover eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as to counter the Federal threat to Chattanooga.

Thursday, August 28:  In Virginia, Confederates under “Stonewall” Jackson withdrew to positions west of the old Bull Run battlefield, while John Pope’s Federals arrived at Manassas to find Jackson gone. Pope received conflicting reports about Jackson’s whereabouts, so he decided to concentrate at Centreville, erroneously thinking Jackson was there. When a Federal division accidentally clashed with Jackson at Groveton, Pope believed Jackson was retreating and redirected his forces against him. In Tennessee, Braxton Bragg’s Confederates advanced into central Tennessee.

Friday, August 29:  In Virginia, John Pope’s Federals attacked “Stonewall” Jackson’s Confederates concentrated in a railroad cut north of Groveton and the Warrenton Turnpike. The Federals were dispersed and tired from hard marching in the heat, and their piecemeal attack was ineffective. Pope blamed General Fitz John Porter, whose corps failed to attack because Porter claimed that the Confederate corps under General James Longstreet had arrived and outnumbered him. Meanwhile, Federal General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck continued urging George McClellan to hurry his troops to reinforce Pope. President Lincoln telegraphed his commanders three times, “What news?” with no response. In the Confederacy, P.G.T. Beauregard succeeded John C. Pemberton as commander of the Department of South Carolina and Georgia. In the Union, Frederick Steele assumed command of the Army of the Southwest.

Saturday, August 30:  In Virginia, John Pope attacked “Stonewall” Jackson’s left flank, erroneously thinking Jackson was retreating. However, James Longstreet counterattacked on Pope’s right with 25,000 troops in the largest mass assault of the war. Combined attacks by Jackson and Longstreet compelled Pope to withdraw by nightfall, and the major fighting in the Battle of Second Bull Run was over. Pope’s Federals established defenses at Centreville; they were defeated but not routed. George McClellan’s feeble efforts to reinforce Pope had failed. Robert E. Lee was victorious, he had relieved Federal pressure on Richmond, but he had not destroyed Pope as hoped. In Kentucky, Confederates under General Edmund Kirby Smith attacked at Richmond, compelling the Federals to retreat toward Louisville. This small but impressive Confederate victory began the invasion of Kentucky. In Washington, President Lincoln anxiously awaited news from both Virginia and Kentucky.

Sunday, August 31:  In Virginia, John Pope concentrated his defeated Army of Virginia on the heights of Centreville. Two corps from the Army of the Potomac finally arrived to reinforce Pope, but they were too late to reverse the defeat. The Confederates moved to turn the Federal right, with “Stonewall” Jackson moving west of Chantilly and James Longstreet following the next day. The Federals abandoned Fredericksburg, leaving behind many supplies. On the Tennessee River, the Federal transport W.B. Terry was captured by Confederates after being grounded on the Duck River Sucks. In the Union, many were alarmed by the recent Confederate successes. The Army Surgeon General called for women and children to scrape lint for bandages.

Monday, September 1:  In Virginia, the last major fighting in the Second Bull Run campaign took place at Chantilly or Ox Hill. Robert E. Lee sent “Stonewall” Jackson’s corps around the Federal right. After severe fighting in heavy rain, the Federals withdrew. Federal General Philip Kearny was killed in the fight, and his death was mourned in both North and South. John Pope’s troops held off the Confederate advance, then withdrew closer to Washington during the night. In Washington, President Lincoln conferred with Henry Halleck and George McClellan about the military situation in Virginia. In the Union, General Ormsby M. Mitchel, famed astronomer and lecturer, was assigned to command the Department of the South. In the Confederacy, General J.P. McCown assumed command of the Department of East Tennessee.

Tuesday, September 2:  In Virginia, John Pope pulled his defeated Army of Virginia back to the Washington area, ending the Second Bull Run campaign. In the fighting of 27 Aug-2 Sep, the Federals lost 1,724 killed, 8,372 wounded, and 5,958 missing (16,054 total casualties) from about 75,000 engaged. The Confederates lost 1,481 killed, 7,627 wounded, and 89 missing (9,197 total casualties) from about 48,500. President Lincoln restored George McClellan to full command in Virginia and around Washington, a decision opposed by cabinet members Edwin Stanton and Salmon Chase. The Confederates gathered near Chantilly to prepare for their next campaign. In Minnesota, the Dakota Sioux uprising continued as the Indians besieged a Federal detachment at Birch Coulee. In Kentucky, Edmund Kirby Smith’s Confederates occupied Lexington. Business was suspended and citizens began drilling in Cincinnati, fearing that Smith would invade Ohio. Meanwhile, Confederates under Braxton Bragg continued moving north from Chattanooga. In the Union, Flag Officer Louis M. Goldsborough was relieved of command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. President Lincoln wrote “Meditation on the Divine Will,” in which he stated, “In great contests each party claims to act in accordance wit the will of God. Both may be, but one must be wrong. God can not be for, and against the same thing at the same time.”

Primary Source: The Civil War Day by Day by E.B. Long and Barbara Long (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1971)