The proclamation, Lincoln hoped, would add a moral dimension to the war besides the preservation of the Union. He contemplated issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, a document that freed all slaves in the rebellious states. On the political front, Lincoln felt that the war-weary North needed to be energized. Lincoln hoped against hope that McClellan would finally bring Lee to decisive battle and destroy the Army of Northern Virginia once and for all. Stuart had raided Pope’s very headquarters, carrying off the general’s dress coat.įollowing the debacle at Second Bull Run, Lincoln turned again to McClellan, whose extreme timidity in the field was contrasted with his superb organizational skills and the enduring confidence of his men. Adding insult to injury, Confederate cavalry under Maj. John Pope, at the Second Battle of Bull Run. At the end of August, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia routed another Union army, under Maj. McClellan and the Union Army of the Potomac from the gates of the Confederate capital of Richmond in the costly Seven Days’ Battles. The Peninsula Campaign had come to naught in July after the Confederates turned away Maj. President Abraham Lincoln, still mourning the death of his 11-year-old son, Willie, earlier that year, sought desperately to find a general who could reverse the growing belief that Confederate arms, under the able leadership of General Robert E. The Civil War was in the midst of its second costly year, and the Union armies had yet to win a significant victory in the eastern theater. The White House was a somber place in the summer of 1862.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |