Glory Road -- A Union After Action Report

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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly, Early September 1862[/b]    As the heat of summer dissipates slightly, all across the land mighty Federal armies are on the march.  In the East, General Hooker sets the Army of the Potomac into motion, with 7 full corps pouring through Clarke’s gap south of Leesburg, preparing to maneuver through familiar terrain and fall upon the rear of the Army of Northern Virginia’s positions near Manassas.  In Kentucky, General Butler’s strategic plan is set in motion, with all three Federal armies on the attack.  General Grant’s Army of the Cumberland moves swiftly through southern Kentucky, and falls upon the Confederate Army of Tennessee near Clarksville.  Grants forces are supplemented by the troops of Buell’s Army of the Ohio, with Franz Sigel’s XXI Corps, largely comprised of German immigrants he personally recruited, in the vanguard.  Meanwhile, General Sherman’s Army of the Tennessee follows in the steps of Grants forces through Kentucky, then pivots east to fall upon the Confederate defenses at Gallatin.  Surely, decisive battles of strategic importance are soon to commence, and the butcher’s bill is likely to be long and deadly.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Outside of New Orleans, the Ironclad fleet of Admiral Porter pounds the Rebel batteries at Ft. St. Philip, destroying several batteries and breaching the walls of the fortress.  The Confederate gunners are unable to inflict any damage on the monstrous vessels in return.  Elsewhere on the water, a mighty Union fleet of gunboats is assembling in the Ohio River, with the probable aim of moving to reduce the guns of Fortress Paducah sometime soon.[/font]

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[font="times new roman"]Late September, 1862[/b]   For the third time in less than a year, mighty armies have clashed near Manassas in Northern Virginia.  General Hooker’s Army of the Potomac, having stolen a march on the rebels, managed to fall upon the flank of the rebel Army of Northern Virginia, in what is being called as the Second Battle of Manassas.  As his troops moved into position, and started driving the rebel army before them, Hooker was said to remark that ‘I hope God has mercy on General Polk, for I will have none.  At the end of the first day, the rebel position was precarious, and Hooker still had 3 fresh corps of the Army of the Potomac that had yet to be committed, and was well on his way to triumph.  The only notable setback of the day was the death of Union General Isaac Rodman, killed while directing an assault on the troops of Longstreet’s Corps.  At night, Polk conferred with his Corps commanders, Generals Longstreet and Jackson.  It was decided that General Longstreets’ forces would hold their positions the next day, while General Jackson conducted a forced night march with his corps, slipping around the Federal right, for a flank attack the next day.  Needless to say, Polk gambled all on the success of Jackson, for dividing his army in the face of the enemy risked annihilation.  At dawn on September 17th, Jackson’s corps struck on a frontage of over a mile, driving into the forces of the Union III Corps of General Peck, who is apparently entirely unsuitable for any command, let alone that of a corps in our nation’s main army, sending them flying.  General Hooker, who had spent the night celebrating the previous days victory with whiskey and women of ill repute who are known to frequent his headquarters tent, seemed to freeze up.  Instead of reacting to this attack with the commitment of the 3 fresh Federal Corps, he seemed indecisive and confused.  Jackson’s attack broke the Union line in the vicinity of General Thomas Williams’ division, and Williams was grievously wounded.  Driving forward, Jackson, threatened the Federal rear and its massive supply trains.  With this huge bounty in sight, Jackson rallied his tired men and led a final charge right before nightfall, directly from the front.  As the Federal rear guard fought stubbornly, the Zouves of the 5th New York let loose with a dreadful volley, and four minie balls struck General Jackson in the chest and arm.  He fell dead instantly, into the arms of his grieving men.  The resulting confusion ended the Confederate attack, and the Federal supply trains escaped capture.  Low on ammunition, and still in somewhat of a daze, General Hooker ordered the Army of the Potomac to recross the mountains through Clarke’s Gap, and return to their camps near Harper’s Ferry.  The Second Battle of Manassas had come to a close, and once again, despite losing more men in combat than the Federals, the Confederates retained their stranglehold on Northern Virginia and the approaches to the capital.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Tragedy in the was more than offset by Triumph in the West.  There, General Grant’s mighty Army of the Cumberland, assisted by the General Sigel’s XXI Corps of the Army of the Ohio, unleashed a mighty assault on the Confederate defenders of Clarksville.  Grant’s forced march from Louisville resulted in a near-complete surprise of the Rebel defenders at Clarksville under General Lovell.  After two days of fierce fighting, and over 20,000 casualties, the rebel Army of Tennessee was driven from their positions and into headlong retreat across the Cumberland.  Further east along the river, General Sherman’s Army of the Tennessee launched a powerful surprise attack against Confederate defenders near Gallatin.  The force of the attack, combined with the shock of Grant’s blow against the main rebel Army at Clarksville, caused the Confederate line to break with relative ease.  The Rebels withdrew hastily across the Cumberland, leaving the entire Tennessee shoreline in the control of triumphant Union Armies.  Sherman’s victory was not without a tragic price, however, as the commander of the Union XIII Corps, General Lew Wallace, was killed when a rebel shell landed in the middle of the General and his staff while riding on horseback.  After the battle, a finished manuscript was discovered in the tent of the brave General Wallace.  It is entitled ‘Ben Hur:  A Life of the Christ’.  Apparently the General, a very religious man, had recently finished this book.  Harper’s readers will be pleased to note that this magazine will publish the book in its entirety, in serial form, as a tribute to this brave warriors service.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly, Early October 1862[/b]   The momentous victories of Generals Grant and Sherman in Tennessee have wrought momentous events in Washington, events that will change the course of the war, and indeed, the future of our nation!!!  Readers will remember the controversy engendered just two short months ago by General Fremont’s declaration that the slaves of Missouri were to be free.  He was repudiated in his stance, and removed from his job, by no less than President Lincoln himself.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]However, what a difference a few months, and the strategic victories of Grant and Sherman, can make.  With the rebel armies driven across the Cumberland, and the border state of Kentucky completely secure (with the exception of Fortress Paducah, the Gibraltar of the West) President Lincoln has now taken a new and more expansive view of the Negro question, which grows more pressing with each advance of our armies into the South. And with this new and expansive view has come a truly memorable decision.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]On October 11, 1862, with the former slave and noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass standing by his side, President Lincoln has issued a preliminary ‘Emancipation Proclamation’.  This Emancipation Proclamation establishes that all Negro slaves held in bondage by the states in rebellion against the Federal government ‘shall be henceforth, and forever free’.  In this bold Proclamation, President Lincoln has now transformed the entire meaning of the war, from a struggle to preserve the Union, to a struggle to transform the Union into a place where the words of our Founders in the Declaration of Independence finally ring true, that ALL men are created equal.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]The consequences of this momentous decision, while still partially unclear, are undoubtedly going to be immense.  Immediate reaction in the North was split between praise and rejoicing in the fiercely abolitionist New England states, to cautious restraint in much of the Old Northwest, to thinly-veiled hostility in some areas of southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, where self-styled ‘Copperheads’ stated that they had no intention of fighting to free the Negro, only to preserve the Union.  Another potential consequence was raised by the suggestion of Douglass and the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison that now that the war is about giving the Negro his freedom, the Negro should be enlisted as a combat soldier and allowed to fight for his freedom.  This statement was met with significant skepticism by many leading military thinkers, who point out that the Negro by nature is not suited to fighting, only manual labor such as construction fortifications.  However, Douglass and Garrison have vowed to continue to press the issue and not rest until former slaves are armed to fight for their freedom, seeing the issue as one of both duty and dignity.  As can be imagined, in Northern communities of freedmen and escaped former slaves, the mood could only be described as jubilation, or as some have put it, ‘The Day of Jubilo’.  Finally past the nightmare of a possible return to servitude, these northern Negros would likely be the first group of men to volunteer for service should colored regiments be formed.  With that day still in the future, they are currently setting forth ideas for how to spread the word of the ‘Great Emancipator, Father Abraham’ to their kinfolk still in the South.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]While it is unknown what effect the Proclamation will have on recruitment and enlistment in Northern armies, there can be no mistaking the fact that it will result in more Confederates flocking to serve the slaveholder’s cause.  Overseas, the reaction from foreign powers was exceedingly positive, with the British Prime Minister applauding the move, and speaking favorably of the Northern cause.  The French, Prussian, and Russian governments all issued similar statements of support, and a representative from the Czar made mention of his desire for closer relations with the United States, and an in time, a favorable resolution of the questions of the Alaska territory, currently in dispute.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In another political development, as Army of Potomac’s VI and XII Corps overran the region of Franklin, in western Virginia, it represented the consolidation of Union control over the counties of this mountainous region.  Encouraged by the Federal moves, legislators who had been contemplating secession from the state of Virginia met in Charleston, and after a quick session, decided to petition for the free counties of western Virginia to be admitted to the Union as a new state, West Virginia.  The Congress and President Lincoln moved to swiftly approve this request, and the state of West Virginia will be admitted to the Union on January 1, 1863.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In the aftermath of the Union’s smashing victories on the north banks of the Tennessee, General Butler travels to Clarksville to confer with his generals – Grant, Sherman, and Buell.  Butler has reportedly outlined the plans for the next phase of campaigning.  It is believed that he intends to use Sherman’s Army of the Tennessee as a maneuver element to draw the rebels out from fortified positions, Grant’s Army of the Cumberland as an iron fist to smash the rebels, and Buell’s Army of the Ohio as a theater reserve and recruit training depot.  While no definitive goals have been made known to correspondents, informed observers surmise that in the next phase of the campaign, there will be at least three goals, 1) capture of the Tennessee capital at Nashville 2) securing Memphis, thus a defensible flank along the Mississippi River, and 3) taking the mighty Rebel Fortress Paducah from the rear, opening the Ohio, Mississippi, Cumberland, and Tennessee to federal naval forces.  Some administrative maneuvers decided at this meeting hint at these methods and plans.  The slain General Wallace is replaced as XIII Corps commander by General James B. McPherson, reputed to be a hard driver and fast marcher, and the XIV Corps of General George Thomas is transferred from the Army of the Tennessee to the Army of the Cumberland.  In return, General E.O.C. Ord’s XV Corps is sent to the Army of the Cumberland by Sherman.  Sherman’s Army of the Tennessee also gets the powerful Cavalry Corps of General Sheridan.  With these moves, the 4 Corps of the Army of the Tennessee are commanded by some of the hardest driving, fastest moving commanders in the entire federal army.  In Grant’s Army of the Cumberland, General Rosecrans is sacked as commander of the XXIV Corps, and replaced by General Gordon Granger, a fierce fighter and veteran of General Butler’s campaigns in the Southwest.  With Grant in command, and with Generals Hurlbut, Lyon, Ord, and Granger commanding its corps, the Army of the Cumberland is the most powerful, hard-hitting force yet under arms for the Union.  As has been the pattern lately, it is reputed that General Buell emerged from this conference displeased with his role and the size of the forces assigned the Army of the Ohio.  Unlike in the past, however, Buell has kept his disappointment largely to himself, as the popularity of Butler, Grant, and Sherman is far too high for him to publicly disparage the men.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In other events of interest to Harper’s Monthly readers, it is reported that the ironclad fleet of Admiral Porter has completely destroyed the Confederate works and heavy guns at Ft. St. Philip, without the loss of a single ship.  The fleet of ironclads, now also known as monitors (after the name of the most renowned of their class) has moved upriver to bombard New Orleans and destroy all rebel vessels found in their path.  Finally, President Lincoln has once again turned to the governors of the loyal states and issued a call for 350,000 more volunteers, to take advantage of the recent federal gains and hopefully bring this terrible war to a conclusion soon.  Despite the somewhat controversial issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation earlier in the month, it is believed that the response from the states will be strong. [/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly, Early November 1862[/b]  After the fury of September’s fighting, and October’s Emancipation Proclamation, command reorganizations, things have been much more settled in November.  Torrential downpours throughout the Eastern and Western Theaters have turned the roads in to a sea of mud, delaying or halting completely any campaign plans by our armies.  The only move of note comes from the small force of General Mahlon Manson, who has captured Monroe, LA, and is now encamped on the bluffs of the Mississippi directly across from the Confederate citadel of Vicksburg.  Manson’s movements represent the deepest penetration of the secessionist heartland to date, and is sure to cause Jefferson Davis great concern.  The Army of the Potomac continues to be encamped near Harper’s Ferry, where General Hooker has relieved General Peck of command of his old III Corps, replacing him with General George Gordon Meade, a man reputed to have a very quick temper.  Hooker has also organized forces under General David Hunter into the XI Corps.  In the west, a new corps has been added to the Army of the Cumberland, the XXV Corps under the prominent War Democrat General John A. Logan.  It is reported General Sherman is forming a 4th corps for the Army of the Tennessee, the XIX Corps to be commanded by General John Schofield, but our correspondents tell us it will be some time before this force of new recruits can be committed to combat.  At sea, all is relatively quiet, as the Union Navy continues to deploy new steam frigates to the anti-raider squadrons and to reinforce the blockade.  [/font]

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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly, Late November 1862[/b]  The extra steam frigates deployed to the shipping lanes seem to be making an impact, as Flag Officer Randolph Breese’s squadron managed to hunt down the Confederate raider Huger, sending his ship to the bottom.  Reports are that there were no survivors, including the captain, who escaped a sure date with the hangman by choosing to go down with his ship.  The mood in the New England ports brightens some as there is a feeling that the worst of the pirate scourge may be behind us, and that soon the Federal navy will have the rest of the buccaneers under control.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Further favorable news at seas reaches us by way of dispatch from Europe.  It seems as though since the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln, the major European powers have lost much interest in trading with or supplying war materiel to what they now consider to be an odious Confederate slaveholding regime.  This information is corroborated by perusing southern newspapers, which lately tell tales of the shortage of consumer goods and war materiels arriving in southern ports.  From an economic and diplomatic standpoint, it would appear that the President’s proclamation has been a resounding success.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Finally, a sad note for our readers.  General Morgan, weakned by months in the field and the intensity of  his job safeguarding the captured areas of the Shenandoah from Confederate counterattack, has fallen seriously ill.  Morgan has resigned his command to return home and battle his various ailments.  While generally an undistinguished commander, Morgan was well liked by his troops and he will be missed.[/font]

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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly, Late November 1862[/b]  The extra steam frigates deployed to the shipping lanes seem to be making an impact, as Flag Officer Randolph Breese’s squadron managed to hunt down the Confederate raider Huger, sending his ship to the bottom.  Reports are that there were no survivors, including the captain, who escaped a sure date with the hangman by choosing to go down with his ship.  The mood in the New England ports brightens some as there is a feeling that the worst of the pirate scourge may be behind us, and that soon the Federal navy will have the rest of the buccaneers under control.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Further favorable news at seas reaches us by way of dispatch from Europe.  It seems as though since the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln, the major European powers have lost much interest in trading with or supplying war materiel to what they now consider to be an odious Confederate slaveholding regime.  This information is corroborated by perusing southern newspapers, which lately tell tales of the shortage of consumer goods and war materiels arriving in southern ports.  From an economic and diplomatic standpoint, it would appear that the President’s proclamation has been a resounding success.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Finally, a sad note for our readers.  General Morgan, weakned by months in the field and the intensity of  his job safeguarding the captured areas of the Shenandoah from Confederate counterattack, has fallen seriously ill.  Morgan has resigned his command to return home and battle his various ailments.  While generally an undistinguished commander, Morgan was well liked by his troops and he will be missed.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly, Early December 1862[/b]    The mud that plagued both theaters of combat in November has dried out quickly, due to a hard frost that has extended unusually far south for this time of year.  Taking advantage of this unexpected opportunity, Union commanders have sprung into action, hoping to take the Confederates by surprise.  In contrast to our well-equipped armies who are replete with warm winter uniforms and new boots, the rebels are ill-prepared for a hard winter, and thus they may be concentrating more on settling into winter encampments than on defending against an unexpected attack.  In the east, General Hooker sends all 8 corps of the Army of the Potomac, plus Stoneman’s cavalry corps, charging once more through Clarke’s Gap west of Leesburg, and quickly shifts the advance south along the Old Carolina Road.  His goal is the town of Haymarket, on the far left flank of the Rebel positions in Manassas.  Once there, Hooker will have the option of rolling up the Rebel flank, or entrenching part of his army while sending the main body south, forcing the Army of Northern Virginia out of its entrenchments and into open combat.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Also in the east, a two division attachment under General William B. Franklin set sail on transports down the Chesapeake, with a rumored intention to land near Jacksonville, Florida.  The capture of Jacksonville, if successful, will deprive the Confederates of a key source of manpower and supply for their armies, and also cut off the southern part of the state from the Confederacy.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Simultaneously, along the Cumberland, General Sherman’s fast moving Army of the Tennessee executes a forced march along frozen roads and manages to slip around the right of the Confederate line of the Cumberland, crossing the great river in the vicinity of Livingston, Tennessee.  With his 43,000 man army firmly planted around the Confederate right flank, Sherman is now positioned to either roll up the Confederate right near Murfreesboro, or to pivot and head further south, threatening a march on Atlanta and the heart of the Deep South.  Sherman’s aggressive maneuver has resulted in him being placed almost directly on the lines of communication of the Confederate Army of Tennessee and the Confederate Army of Kentucky.  Filling the gap in the line at Gallatin, General Buell moves the Army of the Ohio forward to the Cumberland river, with Grant’s Army of the Cumberland to his right.  If the Confederate Army of Tennessee moves to intercept Sherman, it will doubtlessly lead to the fall of Nashville.  If the Rebel force stays in place, it risks being smashed between the Hammer of Sherman’s Army and the Anvil of Grant’s Army.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In support of this move along the Cumberland, a massive fleet of 12 Union river ironclad and gunboat squadrons under the command of Theodorus Bailey moved down the Ohio and attacked the Confederate works at Paducah.  The gunnery practice that Bailey had drilled his men in paid off handsomely, as the walls of the Paducah fortress complex were pounded mercilessly by their Rodman guns and mortar scows.  Observers estimate that nearly 80 Rebel heavy guns were destroyed, at a cost of damage to just two squadrons of Federal ships.  [/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In the far west, the extremely aggressive General Manson had his troops on the move again, this time further securing the western bank of the Mississippi opposite Natchez by overrunning the region between the Ouchita River and the Mississippi River near Ferriday, Louisiana.  Manson’s aggressive campaign has now secured nearly 200 miles of the Western bank of the Mississippi, and also severed the vital rail link from the western Confederacy to the east that crosses the mighty river near Vicksburg.[/font]

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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly, Late December 1862[/b]    The most decisive battle of the war in the East thus far has just been fought, and we are pleased to report to our leaders that after over a year of trying, the Army of the Potomac has finally succeeded in driving the Rebel Army of Northern Virginia from the gates of Washington!!!  General Hooker’s surprise winter offensive caught the Confederate Army completely off guard, and achieved complete success.  The brilliant campaign started off as planned, with a quick flank march from Leesburg to Gainesville placing the 8 corps of the Army of the Potomac in a threatening position on the left flank of the Rebels.  Discovering he was outflanked, General Polk ordered an attack by Longstreet’s Corps in an attempt to dislodge the Federals before they could consolidate their position.  Longstreet’s troops struck the corps of Porter and Sumner like a sledgehammer, but this time, the Federal line held with help from the XII Corps of General Slocum.  Although our boys sustained heavy casualties, they were able to withstand the Rebel onslaught and repulse the attack.  After the failure of Longstreet’s attack, General Polk had no choice but to order the long-held defensive works at Manassas to be abandoned.  Later inspection of these works revealed that the Confederates had been supported in them by no less than 280 heavy guns and field pieces.  We are fortunate indeed that General Hooker’s plan involved maneuvering the Rebels out of this formidable works rather than assaulting them directly, as the casualties would have been fearsome.  After the Battle of Haymarket, the Rebel Army moved south along the Nokesville road towards Catlett Station in a general retreat south, hoping to reach the Rappahannock fords ahead of our troops.  General Hooker immediately moved the Army of the Potomac aggressively down the old Carolina Road, first towards Warrenton, then pivoting south on the Midland Pike.   The idea was to intercept the retreating Rebels near Calverton, but the slow progress of General Meade’s III Corps in the van of the Federal Army allowed the Rebels to slip past on the Nokesville Pike, and get south of the Union forces.  The Rebels then turned to offer battle from well-prepared positions on Elk Run Creek, near Bealeton, Virginia. On December 17th, the Army of the Potomac once again drew up in line of battle and assaulted the Confederate positions in the Battle of Elk Run Creek.  A furious engagement developed throughout the day, cut short only by the quick winter sunset.  The Battle of Elk Run Creek was a bloody affair, with General Darius Couch killed at the head of his division, and serious wounds inflicted upon General John Wool and Joseph K.F. Mansfield.  Rebel leaders were also mowed down indiscriminately, with the Confederates losing 5 brigade commanders and General John Magruder, commander of a division in Longstreet’s Corps, to wounds.  At the end of the day of fighting, General Polk was ordered by Confederate theater commander Samuel Cooper to withdraw the Army of Northern Virginia behind the safety of the Rappahannock.  In a night march, the Rebels successfully evacuated their positions around Elk Run Creek, and withdrew unmolested by Federal forces.  While Union casualties in the fierce fighting of the Battles of Haymarket and Elk Run Creek exceeded those of the Rebels, there is no doubt that General Hooker’s campaign presented a major strategic victory for the North by finally clearing Northern Virginia of the Confederate Army.  Late word comes from Richmond that the Confederate President, the traitor Jefferson Davis, was so enraged learn of the withdrawal order of General Cooper that he ordered Cooper fired on the spot.  Cooper has been replaced as overall theater commander for the Rebels in the East by General Albert Sidney Johnston.  [/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In other encouraging news, word of the success of General Franklin’s assault on Jacksonville has reached the North as additional glad tidings of the holiday season. After a sharp fight, Franklin’s men, supported by the ironclad New Ironsides, drove the defending rebels away, and captured the city and surrounding coastline.  We can only continue to marvel at the achievements of our navy in landing troops at various points in the Confederacy, an approach which has been unstoppable to date.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In the West, it is becoming apparent that the turning move of General Sherman’s Army of the Tennessee to outflank the Confederate line by crossing the Cumberland on the far right flank has been successful, producing the desired results.  Cavalry scouts and observers report that a significant portion of the Confederate troops occupying Fortress Paducah have been evacuated, and scratch Confederate forces have been assembled in both Murfreesboro and the mountain passes that lead towards Chattanooga in order to delay or oppose further movement in that direction.  We can only hope that these movements are a harbinger of the fall of Fortress Paducah in the near future.  Along the Mississippi, General Manson has made an emergency request for another division to reinforce his troops, as his men are spread thin along the key territory they have taken in Arkansas and Louisiana.  General Burnside in Little Rock is said to be unable to offer any further reinforcements, as his men are busy suppressing numerous Rebel partisans.  As any reinforcement from the North must slowly wind its way through the frozen hills and mountains of the Arkansas wilderness, it is unlikely that General Manson will be able to resume his offensive any time soon.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Unfortunately, this month of triumphs for our cause has ended on a tragic note.  On Christmas Eve, a new and previously unknown Confederate Army, which has formed in South Carolina, struck the positions of General Heintzleman’s X Corps near Port Royal.  The force, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, reportedly made a midnight crossing of river obstacles on barges, reminiscent of the attack of General Washington over four score ago.  Catching Heintzleman’s men completely by surprise, the Rebels overwhelmed the outnumbered Federal troops.  While Heintzleman quickly rallied his troops, and fought brilliantly on the defensive, the sheer weight of numbers and surprise sealed the doom of his men.  It is reported that very few men have survived the battle or capture.  What few did survive have been evacuated to Hilton Head Island, where Union forces had previously established an encampment and depot. Leaving on the last available steamer, General Heintzleman himself became a casualty when his ship’s boiler was struck by a Confederate shell and exploded.   Of the 1500 men aboard, 1352 drowned in the frigid waters of the Atlantic.  Heintzleman suffered burns from the boiler’s steam, and was thrown in the icy water, only to be later rescued.  However, his injuries are to such an extent that he is not expected to return to an active duty command for many months.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]And thus, the second year of the Rebellion has drawn to a close.  Despite the setback in South Carolina, there is reason to feel optimism throughout the land, due to the recent triumphs in Northern Virginia, along the Cumberland, in the Southwest, and on the high seas.  While the end of the rebellion is still likely far away, it seems to at least be imaginable at this point, unlike just one year ago, where our forces faced setbacks all over the continent, and the seas were plagued with Confederate pirates.  Now, with the higher cause of freedom inspiring our country, we can look forward to the struggles of the year to come with increasing optimism and confidence in the rightness of our cause and our ultimate prospects of success. [/font]

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The battles of Haymarket and Elk Run Creek, December 1862

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The balance of forces, January 1 1863

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The Strategic Situation, January 1 1863

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The High Command January 1 1863

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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly, January 1863[/b]     The New Year is far from a quiet one throughout our embattled continent.  In the East, the aggressive General Fighting Joe Hooker looks to take advantage of his December victories by continuing to drive the Army of the Potomac forward in pursuit of the Army of Northern Virginia.  Since the weather is clear and cold, conditions are favorable for an advance by both infantry and artillery.  However, after scouting the region ahead, General Stoneman’s cavalry is forced to stay behind north of the Rappahannock, where forage is available for the horses.  Thus, the Army of the Potomac moves aggressively, but somewhat blindly, towards the crossroads town of Orange, not far from Gordonsville, VA, where a major rail junction also exists.  It is believed that the Rebel army has not yet had time to fortify the area, and because of the strategic importance of the town will have no choice but to fight or see their supply line to Richmond threatened.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]From the Washington Navy Yard comes a report of the embarkation of General Daniel Tyler’s division upon troop transports.  It is unknown whether they are sailing for Jacksonville, to reinforce the successful landing of General Franklin, (whom was said to perform very timidly in the attack) or a destination elsewhere.  In fact, General Franklin performed so poorly, he has been relieved of command and cashiered from the army.  It is said that only due to the actions of his subordinate, General John Reynolds, was the landing a success.  General Reynolds has been summoned to Washington, most likely to assume a larger field command, while Franklin has been replaced in command of the Jacksonville forces by the steady General James Negley. Meanwhile, at the mouth of the Mississippi, Admiral Porter’s mighty Ironclad fleet has slipped its moorings and headed out into the Gulf, destination unknown.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In the West, the flanking movement by General Sherman’s Army of the Tennessee continues.  Keeping his main body in position near Livingston, he sends the XX Corps under General Parke to strike eastward into the mountains near the headwaters of the Cumberland River.  Moving through snow covered passes, Parke’s men report they have reached the banks of the Cumberland across from the strategic town of Knoxville.  Upon arriving at this objective, Parke receives a dispatch from Sherman, informing him to report to Washington for an urgent new assignment. General Schofield, who was accompanying General Parke on his maneuver,  has been ordered to assume command of the XX Corps, and turn over his XIX Corps to Napoleon Buford. Knoxville is known to be a region where strong Unionist sentiment exists.  It is also a key transportation link between Virginia and the Western Confederacy.   If Schofield’s men are able to press forward despite the difficult terrain and weather, and capture Knoxville in the coming months, it will greatly increase transportation and supply problems for Confederate armies in Virginia.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Back on the banks of the Cumberland, General Grant orders his Army of the Cumberland to cross the freezing waters in a movement that appears designed to seize the key Confederate positions at Forts Henry and Donelson, which control the banks of both the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers.  Further downriver, the river ironclad and mortar gunboat squadrons of Lee and Bailey continue to pound the heavy guns and fortifications of Fortress Paducah, damaging or destroying nearly 40 Confederate heavy artillery pieces.  However, the Rebels seem to have an inexhaustible supply of these heavy guns, and thus are able to prevent the naval squadrons from moving far enough upriver to support Grant’s attack.[/font]

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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly Late January 1863[/b]   The New Year has brought glorious victories for our men under arms on all fronts this frigid January.  In the West, General Grant’s assault on Forts Henry and Donelson has produced a strategic victory for our forces in Tennessee.  Despite a tremendous preponderance of Confederate heavy artillery, numbering over 240 pieces, Grant’s tough campaigners were able to take the Rebels by surprise and storm their fortifications.  The fighting raged for two days, and the lack of naval support hampered progress, but eventually, the VI Corps of Nathaniel Lyon and XVI Corps of General Hurlbut were able to take Fort Henry.  Meanwhile, a night march by the XV Corps of General Ord and XXV Corps of General Logan brought these men into position to strike Fort Donelson long before General Lovell thought possible.  At dawn, both corps struck.  Early in the battle, General Ord was struck by a Confederate shell fragment and wounded in the arm.  Surgeons were forced to remove the limb, but General Ord is expected to return to command soon.  With Ord down, General Logan distinguished himself by assuming command of both corps, and demonstrated that he is one of the most aggressive fighters in Grant’s army when on the attack.  Rallying the troops with an inspirational speech to restore morale after Ord was hit, Logan directed an effective assault which overran Fort Donelson and sent the defenders retreating across the Tennessee in small boats towards the opposite shore.  Late word arrives that General Lovell is trying to rally the remains of the Confederate forces in the vicinity of Humboldt.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In Virginia, General Hooker’s aggressive gamble to pursue the Confederate Army paid off.  In a blinding snowstorm on January 21, the IX Corps of General Reno and the XII Corps of General Slocum ran into defenders of CSA General James Longstreet’s Corps.  The fighting was fierce in the raw winter weather.  Due to the severity of the storm, neither side was able to commit reinforcements to the wild melee, centered around the Orange railroad station and courthouse.  In the confusion, both General Slocum was hit by Rebel fire, going down with a severe wound, and both of General Reno’s division commanders, General’s Kearny and Stevens were hit as well.  Stevens is expected to recover from his wounds, but General Kearny’s were fatal.  Finally, with night not far off, General Hunter’s XI Corps was able to move to the sound of the guns, and in a blizzard, fell on Longstreet’s flank, forcing a Confederate retreat.  While the Confederates retreated in good order, there was widespread confusion because of the blizzard in their ranks, with the bulk of the Army heading east towards Richmond, but a sizable contingent, cut off from the others, who ended up moving west.  There, they struggled through partially closed passes in the Blue Ridge, to reach safety in the area near Staunton.  With the strategic victory in the Battle of Orange, it is likely that General Hooker’s brilliant winter campaign, which has produced 3 major battles in less than a month, all victories, and an advance of nearly 80 miles into hostile territory, will come to an end.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]Finally, encouraging news comes from the far away shores of Texas, where General Tyler’s division, supported by the monitors of Admiral Porter, has captured the key Confederate port of Galveston.  With this port in Federal hands, the Union blockade of the Confederacy has tightened even further.  Articles in captured Confederate newspapers are starting to tell of great hardships faced by southern soldier and civilian alike, with just a trickle of supplies making it through the blockade from abroad.  Mysteriously, this shortage of supplies and ordnance does not seem to be affecting the Confederates ability to produce heavy artillery.  In every battle fought over the last two months, the Confederates have had hundreds of heavy guns available, far outstripping even the most optimistic estimate of their ability to produce or import such weapons.  With such a surfeit of heavy guns available, it is likely that our naval and land forces face many tough battles in the months ahead.[/font]

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Forts Henry and Donelson, January 1863

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The Battle of Orange January 1863

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The Confederate line along the Cumberland in the West has been severely compromised by Grant on the left and Sherman on the right. I have many options available to me here, a drive on Knoxville to cut the rail line, a drive south through Murfreesboro and Chattanooga to threaten the deep south, a move to capture Nashville, or sending Grant across to Humboldt to entrap the Confederates there and in Fortress Paducah, and perhaps take Memphis. Fortress Paducah has now gone from a bastion of strength to a liability, and perhaps a deathtrap for the Rebels. Additionally, Union riverine fleets might finally be able to bypass the literally hundreds, if not thousands of heavy guns the Rebels have, and cut off the river crossings on the Tennessee, making operations north of the river impossible risks for the Rebel.

As an aside, if I have a complaint, it is with the ridiculous amounts of Confederate heavy artillery that is produced. I am outnumbered in guns, particularly heavy guns, in every battle by 3 or 4 to 1. There is simply no way the rebels could have manufactured or imported anywhere near this amount of artillery pieces, nor could they have shuttled them all over the Confederacy every month in strategic moves, given the state of their limited, and deteriorating, rail network. I would think a system of fixed guns, tied to the construction of fortifications, would be more realistic.

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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly Early February 1863[/b]   After his brilliant winter campaign, General Hooker moves the bulk of his Army of the Potomac north to the area of Manassas Junction, where they can rest, refit, and be more easily resupplied.  He leaves an sizable detachment in the region around Gordonsville, watching the passes to the Shenandoah to the west, and the rail line to Richmond to the southeast.  This force, under the command of General Meade, is known as the Department of the Shenandoah, and contains men from Meade’s old III Corps and Reno’s IX Corps, which was severely depleted by the hard winter campaigning of the last two months.  In Manassas, Hooker shuffles the corps command of the Army of the Potomac, sending Erasmus Keyes of the I corps to Fort Monroe, where a new command is forming, and replaces him with John Reynolds.  Edwin Sumner of the II Corps is placed in command of Meade’s old III Corps, with Winfield S. Hancock taking his place in command of II Corps.  David Hunter assumes command of the veteran XII Corps in place of the wounded Slocum, while Oliver O. Howard assumes command of the XI Corps in Hunter’s stead.  The V Corps remains under the command of Fitz-John Porter, as does the VI Corps under ‘Uncle John’ Sedgwick.  [/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In the west, the Federal armies continue to press their advantage along the Cumberland and beyond.  With the advance of Schofield and Buford’s corps towards Knoxville stalled by high water on the Cumberland, General William T. Sherman takes the two remaining corps of his Army of the Tennessee, the XIII under McPherson and the XIV under Thomas, along with his cavalry, and strikes towards Tullahoma, Tennessee.  If he can succeed in taking Tullahoma, Sherman will have cut off the last remaining route for retreat of Confederate forces in Tennessee towards Georgia.  Meanwhile, General Don Carlos Buell, feeling overshadowed by the successes of Sherman and Grant in recent campaigns, hurls the XXIII Corps of Hamilton and the Reserve Corps of Peck across the Cumberland in a quick attempt to seize Nashville.  Without cavalry, and considering the large proportion of raw recruits in these formations, this is a bold gamble for glory by Buell, that will likely end in triumph or his dismissal.  Sensing the possibility of trouble, Grant takes the time to rest and refit his nearby Army of the Cumberland, on the possibility that it may need to intervene if disaster strikes Buell.  Additionally, Grant orders the construction of earthworks and deployment of heavy guns in the former Confederate works at Forts Henry and Donelson, to prevent the Rebels from using river movement to concentrate against Buell.[/font]

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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly, Late February 1863[/b]   From the North Atlantic, word has come that our vast naval squadrons have intercepted and captured two more Confederate raider ships, killing their captains and sending their crews to the bottom of the sea.  According to naval sources, only 3 Confederate pirate captains are known to still be cruising the Atlantic waters, and no orders have been placed by the Confederacy with European shipyards to replace their losses.  A sense of optimism that normal trade may soon return is evident in New England’s seaport towns.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In the West, General Sherman seizes Tullahoma, brushing aside a small force under Braxton Bragg with few casualties.  Bragg’s men withdraw across the Tennessee in good order, and proceed to entrench themselves in the vital railroad town of Chattanooga.  Meanwhile, General Buell’s impulsive assault across the Cumberland to Nashville ends in tragedy, as his half trained troops are soundly whipped by General D.H. Hill’s defenders.  Additional casualties are incurred as Buell’s neglect in bringing enough river transport for his men results in hundreds of men drowning in the frigid Cumberland as they attempt to retreat back to safety.  General Buell is roundly condemned for his squandering of valuable troops throughout the North, and is compared very unfavorably to his fellow commanders Grant and Sherman.  It is thought likely that he will soon be relieved of his command.  In another tragedy, Flag Officer Theodorus Bailey, hero of the bombardment of Fortress Paducah, was wounded when engaging Confederate heavy artillery batteries along the bluffs of the Tennessee River near Humboldt.  It is unknown how long his wounds will keep this able sailor from his command.[/font]

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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly, Early March 1863[/b]    Sherman continues his drive in the West, bringing the XIX Corps of Buford down from Cumberland to Tullahoma, to hold the line of the Tennessee while he takes the XIII Corps of McPherson and the XIV Corps of Thomas, along with the Cavalry Corps of Sheridan to drive westward towards Confederate positions in Middle Tennessee.  There, Sherman’s men pin Confederate forces near the banks of the Stones River, looking to drive them all the way back to Nashville, where they will be trapped.  Once again, Sherman is acting as the hammer, with Grant and Buell as his anvils.  To the south, along the Tennessee River, Union gunboat squadrons cut off rail bridges and fords, to prevent reinforcement or retreat by the Confederates still north of the Tennessee near Nashville.  Simultaneously, Grant orders the 4 corps of the Army of the Cumberland, the IV under Lyon, the XVI under Hurlbut, the XXIV under Granger, and the XXV under Logan, to cross the Tennessee westward, and seize the Confederate positions in Humboldt.  Success in this operation will mean that the mighty Confederate Fortress Paducah will be cut off and surrounded, and its reduction only a matter of time.  Finally in the West, General Buell’s Army of the Ohio has been disbanded.  Buell has been sent to Ft. Jackson, Louisiana, with orders to organize an army for a campaign to take New Orleans, in conjunction with Admiral Porters fleet of monitors.  It is widely speculated that while Buell may be allowed to organize this force, ultimately another leader will be selected to command it.[/font]
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[font="times new roman"]In Northern Virginia, General Hooker continues to rest the men of the Army of the Potomac, filling units with replacements for those men lost in the winter campaign.  As spring is just around the corner, anticipation is high for the coming campaign, which could be targeted at Richmond itself.[/font]

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[font="times new roman"]Harper’s Monthly, Late March 1863[/b]   Along the Stones River, near the town of Murfreesboro, General Sherman’s Army of Tennessee battled a Confederate force under General D.H. Hill.  The corps of McPherson and Thomas struck in a well-coordinated attack that drove the Confederates across the Stones River, with some units not stopping the retreat until they reached Nashville.  Further to the West, General Grant’s Army of the Cumberland crossed the Tennessee from their encampment near Forts Henry and Donelson, and engaged the General Lee’s Confederate Army of Tennessee near the village of Spring Creek.  During the battle of Spring Creek, all four corps commanders of the Army of the Cumberland distinguished themselves in aggressively committing their men to the fight.  After the first day of inconclusive fighting, Grant called on General Logan’s XXV Corps to provide the spearhead to strike at a vulnerable spot near the left center of Lee’s lines near Stone Barn Hill.  During this action, all three of Logan’s division commanders, Generals Morgan, Crittenden, and Andrews were wounded.  However, the momentum of their attack and the weight of numbers, combined with Logan’s aggressive personal leadership, eventually forced the Confederate lines to give way.  Lee’s army, true to his professional character, retreated in good order towards Memphis.  By the end of the week, outriders of Grant’s army had reached the banks of the Mississippi, in the far western part of Tennessee. At that moment, the Army of the Cumberland thus completed the strategic encirclement of the mighty Fortress Paducah, whose defenders are now isolated and without supply.  With an iron ring of Federal land and naval forces surrounding them, it can only be a matter of time before this bastion falls.[/font]