The Manassas Campaign is a series of marches and battles in northern Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War . In July 1861, the federal army entered Virginia in two columns, launching the first civil war campaign. One of these columns was stopped in the Shenandoah Valley , and the second met the Confederate army at Manassas and was defeated in the First Battle of Bull Run .
| Manasas campaign | |||
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| Main Conflict: US Civil War | |||
 Ricketts Battery Retreat in Bull Run First Battle | |||
| date | July 1861 | ||
| A place | Virginia | ||
| Total | Confederate victory. The complete defeat of the army of the North. | ||
| Opponents | |||
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| Commanders | |||
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| Forces of the parties | |||
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Content
Background
By the beginning of the summer of 1861, there were two Confederate field armies in Northern Virginia. General Boregar commanded the Potomac Army, which defended the Manassas railway junction, and General Johnston commanded the Shenandoah Army , which was located near Harpers Ferry , covering the Shenandoah Valley. The Manassas-Gap Railway connected the two armies. In June and July, General Beauregard proposed to President Davis a plan for the invasion of Maryland, but Davis rejected these proposals, citing the Confederation’s lack of resources for such an attack [1] .
The federal army near Washington and Alexandria was commanded by Major General Irwin MacDowell, who believed that his poorly trained army was not yet ready for complex maneuvers and for this reason the offensive was undesirable now and in the near future. But federal commander-in-chief Winfield Scott demanded that he provide a plan for the attack on Manassas, and on June 24, McDowell drew up the plan. He decided that the southerners had 35,000 people under Manassas and another 10,000 under Richmond, and decided that for the offensive he would need 30,000 people and 10,000 reserves [2] .
First Campaign in the Shenandoah Valley
General Patterson's army stood in Chambersburg, gaining strength and preparing for the offensive. On June 15, she marched from Chambersberg to Hagerstown. The army numbered about 18,000, while Johnston had only about 7,000 at Harpers Ferry. On June 13, Johnston learned that 2,000 men, presumably the vanguard of McClellan's army, had come to Romney. Johnston sent there to intercept 13th Virginia Regiment, Colonel E.P. Hill and 10th Virginia Regiment, Colonel Gibbons. Hill was also ordered to bring along the 3rd Tennessee Regiment of Colonel Vaughn, who had just arrived in Winchester. With these forces, Hill was supposed to slow down the federal attack on Winchester whenever possible [3] .
Patterson's offensive on Hagerstown and the offensive on Romney forced Johnston to leave Harpers Ferry. On June 13 and 14, everything of value was taken out to Winchester and the bridges over the Potomac were destroyed. The equipment from Harpers Ferry's arsenals was taken to Winchester, from there to Starstberg, and from there to Richmond. On the morning of June 15, the Southerners left Harpers Ferry along the Berryville Road and camped three miles from Charles Town. On the morning of June 16, it became known that the vanguards of Patterson had crossed the Potomac at Williamsport and were moving to Martinsburg. Johnston decided to lead an army on Bunker Hill to prevent the army of Patterson and McClellan from joining. But for this he needed a guide, and while he was looking for him, a letter came from Richmond, allowing him to leave Harpers Ferry and go to Winchester. Further, he was advised to retreat to the gorges of the Blue Ridge Range and take up defense on the passes. In the case of extremes, he was allowed to abandon the Shenandoah Valley and leave to join the army of Boregar near Manassas [3] .
On June 16 at 09:00, Johnston turned camp, walked through Bunker Hill and camped at Mill Creek. On June 17, his army took up a position at an altitude convenient for defense near Martinsburg. But at noon, news came that Patterson had returned back for the Potomac. This was because Wallace's Romney squad requested reinforcements due to the approach of Hill's regiments, and Patterson sent him an additional five infantry regiments. Johnston continued to retreat to Winchester, where he camped 3 miles from the city on the Martinsburg Road, but left Stewart’s cavalry pickets on the banks of the Potomac River [3] .
Meanwhile, more and more new regiments arrived at the disposal of Johnston, and by the beginning of July he gradually formed four brigades: 1) the Jackson Virginia brigade, 2) the Bartow George brigade, 3) the Bernard Bee brigade , and 4) the Arnold Elsie brigade. The 1st Virginia Cavalry Regiment and the 33rd Virginia Infantry Regiment were left without brigade submission. As of June 30, 1861, these forces totaled 10,654, of which 10,000 were infantry, 334 cavalry and 278 artillery.
Meanwhile, there were rumors that Patterson was preparing to cross the Potomac again. Jackson's brigade was sent to Martinsburg to cover cavalry pickets and help take out Baltimore-Ohio Railroad property from Martinsburg. Jackson was also ordered to destroy all that turned out to be the infrastructure of this railway. A letter from the president came on June 22: he wrote that Patterson could launch an offensive through the Blue Ridge on Leesburg and further to Manassas on the flank of the Beauregard army and in this case Johnston should attack him on the flank and try to defeat Patterson with the help of Beauregard [3] .
On June 30, Patterson left Hagerstown with his entire army and marched to Virginia in two columns: one intended to cross the Potomac at Dam No. 4, and the second at Williamsport. Both were due to meet in Hainesville. However, the Potomac was not able to cross the dam at the dam, so in the end the whole army on July 2 crossed the Potomac at Williamsport, heading from there to Martinsburg. The Negli Brigade was assigned to guard the right flank. At 07:30, Stewart’s cavalry informed Jackson about the enemy’s advance and he sent forward the 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment , which engaged in a skirmish with the enemy and a small battle occurred at Hooks Run , which was the first battle in the Shenandoah Valley and the first battle in the career of Thomas Jackson. Subsequently, Jackson received the rank of brigadier general for this battle, and Stuart received the rank of colonel [3] .
At sunset on July 2, Johnston sent his army from Winchester north and met Jackson's brigade in Darksville on the morning of July 3. The army turned into battle formation, waiting for the offensive and attack of the federal army, and stood in this position for 4 days. But Patterson occupied Martinsburg and did not advance further. Johnston found it unprofitable to attack him in Martinsburg, so he took his entire army - about 9,000 people - to Winchester [3] .
Shenandoah's army stood in Winchester for about two weeks. During this time, her brigades were slightly strengthened, for example, the 33rd Virginia Regiment was added to the Jackson Brigade, and the 6th North Carolina Regiment was added to the Bernard B. Brigade. a new 5-5 brigade was formed, led by Edmund Kirby Smith ( 8th , 9th, 10th, 11th Alabama and 19th Mississippi regiments).
On July 15, Patterson stepped out of Martinsburg to Bunker Hill, and on July 17 moved onto the Winchester Road. Watching his maneuvers, Johnston decided that Patterson was going to go through Berryville and be between the armies of Johnston and Beauregard, thereby blocking Johnston in the valley. On July 18, at 01:00, Johnston learned from General Cooper that MacDowell’s army was advancing on Manassas, and after half an hour a telegram came from Beauregard asking for help. Johnston decided that his army in the valley would be no more useful than in Manassas, however, he wondered what to do better: attack Patterson or slip out of the valley unnoticed. The second method was considered the fastest and safest. At 09:00, Stuart informed Johnston that Patterson was standing in Smithfield at a safe distance from the road to Manassas. Then Johnston ordered that all patients (about 1,700 people) be left in Winchester under the protection of the local militia, and Stuart ordered that all roads to Patterson’s army be blocked and that no news be allowed to leak to the enemy until night and retreat through Ashby-Gap at night. (Stuart completed the task so well that Paterson did not recognize anything until July 12) [3]
At noon on July 18, Johnston's army left Winchester. Jackson's brigade was at the forefront. Johnston, accustomed to the quick marches of the regular army, was very disappointed with the pace of the volunteers and almost despaired of arriving at Manassas on time. To save the situation, he sent Whiting, a major of engineering troops, to Piedmont Station in search of trains. At sunset, Jackson's team arrived in Paris, on the passes of the Blue Ridge Range. By morning, the entire army of Johnston had gone beyond the ridge [3] .
Meanwhile, Patterson remained in Martinsburg. As early as July 8, he planned an attack on Winchester, gathered a military council, but his brigadier generals, for various reasons, considered such an attack too dangerous. It was decided that the army should be taken to Shepherdstown or Harpers Ferry, from where it could effectively threaten Johnston. On July 12, Patterson wrote to Washington that he was worried about the security of his position, especially since the defeat of his army in the valley would affect all other fronts. On the same day, he found out that General McClellan had defeated the enemy at Rich Mountain , but still remained of the opinion that his army could not be risked [3] .
On June 16, Patterson led the army to Bunker Hill, but found that his army was about to expire. His regiments at any moment could lay down their arms and go home, and he considered it impossible to advance in this position. On July 18, Patterson sent messages to Washington three times that he was holding Johnstone in Winchester, despite his superior strength. On July 21, he announced that Johnston’s army had left Winchester, but he could not pursue it because his regiments had expired.
Northern Virginia Campaign
Notes
- ↑ Detzel, 2004 , p. 88 - 91.
- ↑ Katcher, 2013 , p. 74 - 75.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The first Shenandoah Valley Campaign
Literature
- Davis, William C. Battle at Bull Run: A History of the First Major Campaign of the Civil War. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1977.
- Detzel, David. Dooneybrook: The Battle of Bull Run. - New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2004 .-- p. - ISBN 0-15-100889-2 .
- Gimbel, Gary. "The End of Innocence: The Battle of Falling Waters", in Blue & Gray, Volume XXII, number 4 (Fall 2005).
- Gottfried, Bradley G. The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff, June - October 1861. New York: Savas Beatie, 2009. ISBN 978-1-932714 -60-9 .
- Hennessy, John J. The First Battle of Manassas: An End to Innocence, July 18-21, 1861. - Stackpole Books, 2015 .-- 224 p. - ISBN 978-0811715911 .
- Katcher, Philip RN The Army of Northern Virginia: Lee's army in the American Civil War. - New York: The Brown Reference Group plc, 2013 .-- 362 p. - ISBN 1-57958-331-8 .
- Robertson, William G. "First Manassas, Virginia (VA005), Prince William County, July 21, 1861", in The Civil War Battlefield Guide, 2nd edition, edited by Francis H. Kenndey. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. ISBN 0-395-74012-6 .