Events of 1861.
Operations in West Virginia.
ON the 24th of May the Union army crossed the Potomac from Washington to Alexandria. At this time Fortress Monroe was held by twelve thousand men, under General B. F. Butler. At Bethel Church, in that vicinity, was stationed a detachment of Confederates. On the 10th of June, a body of Union troops was sent to dislodge them, but was repulsed with considerable loss.
Vicinity of Manassas Junction, 1861.
2. In the last of May, General T. A. Morris moved forward from Parkersburg to Grafton, West Virginia. On the 3d of June he defeated a force of Confederates at Phillippi. General George B. McClellan now took the command, and on the 11th of July gained a victory at Rich Mountain. On the 10th of August, General Floyd, with a detachment of Confederates at Carnifex Ferry, was attacked by General William S. Rosecrans and obliged to retreat. On the 14th of September the Confederates, under General Robert E. Lee, were beaten in an engagement at Cheat Mountain.
3. In the beginning of June, General Robert Patterson marched against Harper's Ferry. On the 11th of the month a division commanded by Colonel Lewis Wallace made a successful onset upon the Confederates at Romney. Patterson then crossed the Potomac and pressed back the Confederate forces to Winchester. Thus far there had been only petty engagements and skirmishes. The time had now come for the first great battle of the war.
First Battle of Bull Run.
4. The main body of the Confederates, under General Beauregard, was concentrated at Manassas Junction, twenty-seven miles west of Alexandria. Another large force, commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston, was in the Shenandoah Valley. The Union army at Alexandria was commanded by General Irwin McDowell, while General Patterson was stationed in front of Johnston. On the 16th of July the national army moved forward, and on the morning of the 21st came upon the Confederate army between Bull Run and Manassas Junction. A general battle ensued, continuing with great severity until noonday. In the crisis of the conflict General Johnston arrived with nearly six thousand fresh troops from the Shenandoah Valley; and in a short time McDowell's army was hurled back in rout and confusion into the defenses of Washington. The Union loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners amounted to two thousand nine hundred and fifty-two; that of the Confederates to two thousand and fifty.
5. Meanwhile, on the 20th of July, the new Confederate government was organized at Richmond. Jefferson Davis, the President, was a man of wide experience in the affairs of state, and considerable reputation as a soldier. He had served in both houses of the national Congress, and as a member of Pierce's cabinet. His decision of character and advocacy of State rights had made him a natural leader of the South.
Operations in Missouri.
6. The next military movements were made in Missouri. A convention, called by Governor Jackson in the previous March, had refused to pass an ordinance of secession. But the disunionists were numerous and powerful; and the State became a battlefield. Both Federal and Confederate camps were organized. By capturing the United States arsenal at Liberty, the Confederates obtained a supply of arms and ammunition.
7. They hurried up troops, also, from Arkansas and Texas in order to secure the lead mines in the southwest part of the State. On the 17th of June Lyon defeated Governor Jackson at Booneville, and on the 5th of July the Unionists, led by Colonel Franz Sigel, were again successful in a fight at Carthage. On the 10th of August a hard battle was fought at Wilson's Creek, near Springfield. General Lyon made a daring attack on the Confederates under Generals McCulloch and Price. The Federals at first gained the field, but General Lyon was killed, and his men retreated.
8. General Price now pressed northward to Lexington, which was defended by two thousand six hundred Federals, commanded by Colonel Mulligan. A stubborn defence was made, but Mulligan was obliged to capitulate. On the 16th of October Lexington was retaken by the Federals. General John C. Fremont followed the retreating Confederates as far as Springfield, when he was superseded by General Hunter. The latter retreated to St. Louis, and Price fell back toward Arkansas.
9. The Confederates captured the town of Columbus in Kentucky, and also gathered in force at Belmont, on the opposite bank of the Mississippi. Colonel Ulysses S. Grant, with three thousand Illinois troops, was now sent into Missouri. On the 7th of November he made a successful attack on Belmont; but was afterwards obliged to retreat.
Ball's Bluff.
10. After the rout at Bull Run, troops were rapidly hurried to Washington. The aged General Scott retired from active duty, and General McClellan took command of the Army of the Potomac. By October his forces had increased to a hundred and fifty thousand men. On the 21st of that month two thousand troops were sent across the Potomac at Ball's Bluff. Without proper support, the Federals were attacked by a force of Confederates under General Evans, driven to the river, their leader, Colonel Baker, killed, and the whole force routed with a loss of eight hundred men.
Southern Coast Blockaded.
11. In the summer of 1861 a naval expedition proceeded to the North Carolina coast, and on the 29th of August captured the forts at Hatteras Inlet. On the 7th of November an armament, under Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont and General Thomas W. Sherman, reached Port Royal, and captured Forts Walker and Beauregard. The blockade became so rigorous that communication between the Confederate States and foreign nations was cut off. In this juncture of affairs, a serious difficulty arose with Great Britain.
George B. McClellan.
Mason and Slidell.
12. The Confederate government appointed James M. Mason and John Slidell as ambassadors to France and England. The envoys, escaping from Charleston, reached Havana in safety. At that port they took passage on the British steamer Trent for Europe. On the 8th of November the vessel was overtaken by the United States frigate San Jacinto, commanded by Captain Wilkes. The Trent was hailed and boarded; the two ambassadors were seized, transferred to the San Jacinto, and carried to Boston. When the Trent reached England, the whole kingdom burst out in a blaze of wrath.
13. At first the government of the United States was disposed to defend Captain Wilkes's action. Had such a course been taken, war with Great Britain would have been inevitable. The country was saved from the peril by the diplomacy of William H. Seward, the Secretary of State. When Great Britain demanded reparation for the insult, and the liberation of the prisoners, he replied in a mild, cautious, and very able paper. It was conceded that the seizure of Mason and Slidell was not justifiable according to the law of nations. An apology was made for the wrong done; the Confederate ambassadors were liberated, put on board a vessel, and sent to their destination. So ended the first year of the civil war.