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American Civil War (1861 - )
Topic Started: Oct 14 2006, 07:24 AM (783 Views)
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Minister (Super Mod)
1861 and the First Battle of Bull Run

Summer-Autumn 1861

In the summer of 1861 the MA Militia, NJ Militia and New York Miltia under General Hooker crossed the Potomac to attack Beauregard's positions on Bull Run, the Occoquan River. Beauregard was outnumbered but his forces were of superior quality, with the 50,000 or so Union troops more disorganised and on the attack. Hooker was however aware and competent and took as many steps as possible to lessen the impact.

The First Engagement was with a cavalry screen for Beauregard's main force of 20,000 or so infantry, in which Confederate troops provided an admirable delaying action to 9,000 Union troops and which sent word for the need for reinforcement from Johnston's 20,000 troops to the west.

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A day and a half later, Hooker's army was in Centreville and preparing its main assault, which was launched after faints on fords to the south and a small scale attack on the stone bridge across Bull Run. 35,000 men under Hooker moved Northwest and Wheeled south on to the Confederate position thereby escaping the troublesome problems of river and bridge. The Confederate soldiers provided admirable effort but there were clear problems and it seemed that Beauregard would not be able to link effectively in a wider front with Johnston - if anything, he felt that he would be pinned to the Potomac at one of its widest points with Johnston having to approach from the south and that he might risk the safety of both armies by staying - he considered an attack to the northeast to shift the front to both sides of the river and weaken the Union to an attack from the west, but felt it would risk a swift annihilation of his forces in the event of breakthrough.

The Confederates withdrew intact but could not push on Washington, and Johnston placed a screen of a few thousand men on the Shennandoah south of Blue Ridge while the majority of his men made for Jefferson VA to Unite with Beauregard to present a superior force to the Union's.

Casualties

2,500 Yankee Aggitators
1,400 Southern Gentlemen, and their pride


Second Battle of Bull Run and the Shenandoah Campaign

August-Winter Quarters 1861

Second Battle of Bull Run


Owing to their immediate numerical superiority over the Unionists on Bull Run Beauregard ordered an immediate counterattack on Hooker's forces with the army of the Potomac and the Shenandoah, a minor feat of organisation but quite possible given the low casualties and the easy manner of their departure.

The attack was swift and caught Hooker's forces quite unprepared. He immediately sent word to Meade in Washington and Hancock in Harper's Ferry. Beauregard's superior cavalry forces successfully harassed the Yankee forces and screened the attack by the bulk of the infantry. The casualties in the initial attack represented the brunt of the south's losses, being as they were an attack on a reasonably prepared enemy. These came in the form of an attack on the stone bridge across Bull run which successfully took the previously entrenched southern positions as an anchor at the expense of many lives but with great bravery, and an attack essentially mirroring that of the attack by Hooker, avoiding the river and wheeling from the west.

As this occured, forces from Virginia in the form of cavalry appeared and were sent to tackle the eastern and poorly protected fords and attempt to break the Union forces with a forced rout through flanking. The Union soldiers with their capital so close on ground newly won were stubborn but numerically outmatched and tactically unable to counter the troops attacking from three directions and breaking the focus of their formidable artillery fire in which [later general] Hunt distinguished himself.

The Union army was defeated and retreated to the Potomac and a force under Meade, the Confederacy retook the land.

Casualties

Bellicose Yankees:
4,300 Casualties, 4,000 Captured

Southern Gentlemen:
8732 Casualties

Shenandoah Campaign

Hancock Attacked the Screen Left by Johnston on the Shenandoah river in a bid to relieve pressure on Washington. He encountered only 5,000 soldiers and was able to drive them off by virtue of superior firepower at the expense of some casualties.

Johnston retreated to the main pass east in the Blue Ridge through which Johnston had marched and hoped to delay for assistance from the full army of the Shenandoah and Virginian reinforcenemts. They held admirably, especially as Hancock was obliged to leave some of his forces to safeguard the Shenandoah and Harper's Ferry, and the Virginia infantry arrived in time to cause a stalemate for the winter in a difficult strategic position for both sides, with a Union advantage in numbers of about 15,000 to 12,500

Casualties:

Negro-Lovers (Not in that way:
2,000 men

Negro-Whippers (in Blake's case, a fetish):
1,000 men

Aftermath

The Confederacy lies close on with Washington still, but the Yankees control the Shenandoah and still have Meade's forces, some of which are united with Hooker on the Potomac, in reserve.
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Minister (Super Mod)
Union Naval Movements, 1862

The Mouth of Mississippi and Charleston are both blockaded by superior forces which cannot attack the fortified ports, but which are capable of the destruction of the docked confederate fleets. However, come storm seasons the Mississippi blockade will have to broken for the safety of the vessels, presenting opportunities for escape.
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Metternich
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Minister (Super Mod)
See first post.
Whether a Nation Today be Mighty and Rich depends not on the Abundance or Security of its Power or Riches, but Principally on Whether its Neighbours Possess More or Less of it. - Philip Von Hornigk, German Mercantillist, c. 1690
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Confederates Advance In The West, 1862

In earch March under the command of General Braxton Bragg the Army of Texas has begun a general advance into the region of the Oklahoma territory. It's stated objective being the compliance of the Oklahoma territory to Confederate influence and the opening of another front against the Union in the far West.

Reaching undefended Oklahoma City on March 15th, disorder amongst the ranks led to a days looting and violence against both the negro inhabitants of the city and known Union sympathisers, at the end of the day a total of 27 negroes had been unlawfully lynched around the city and many of the cities' bars and inns were left in various states of devastion, before leaving the city the Confederates plundered the grain stores of the town to further the supplies of the army, and installed a compliant governer to maintain Confederate control of the region, declaring the Confederate State of Oklahoma.

Moving on from Oklahoma City, the Confederates left a trail of destruction in their path, plundering any farms they came across for supplies and enacting retribution on any negroes unfortunate enough to cross their path, the march eastwards had been going on for approximately a week before the Confederates began nearing Fort Gibson the oldest settlement in Oklahoma.

It has here that they met the first Union opposition in the advance, General McClellan having recently been transferred from the East and placed in charge of the Wiscounsin militia numbering some 6,600 militiamen had recieved news of the Confederate advance into Oklahoma and had gathered together the Wiscounsin Militia and 9th Missouri Reserve from the borderlands of Missouri and began marching towards the Confederates.

Greviously underinformed about the strength of the Confederate force and their position, McClellan had arrived in Fort Gibson with a force totalling some 8,416 men, it was there that he recieved news of the Confederate movements, however details of strength were sketchy, with his best estimates being of 20,000 men due to the strung out nature of the march. Resolving to make a stand and delay the Confederate advance, he dispatched messengers to Grant and Rosecrans in the east informing their forces of the suprise Confederate advance and informing them of his plan to hold up the Confederates before retreating to St Louis where a real defence could be made, hoping his diversionary battle could buy them enough time to return and save Missouri.

Battle of Fort Gibson

The two armies met outside Fort Gibson at roughly 10am on April 7th 1862, McClellan's intelligence faux pas was revealed once the Confederate Army came into view and he realised that his forces were outnumbered heavily, there was definantly more than the 20,000 reported. When the battle came it was swift and short, McClelland's miltia forces being overwhelmed by the pure strenth in numbers of of the Confederate Army of Texas, the battle lasting only two hours before McClelland gave the order to retreat, having held up the Confederates for as long as his small force could.

Industrialist Pigs
560 Casualties, 300 Captured

Southern Belles
400 Casualties

McClelland Captured

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McClelland and the remainder of his army escaped the battlefield and began to march towards St Louis attempting to link up with the hopefully massing armies of Grant and Rosecrans, however, taking advantage of his cavalry dominance Bragg quickly caught up with his defeated foe in Missouri just outside Kansas City, Missouri three days after the battle of Fort Gibson and took the surrender of his foe and all his soldiers.

Learning of the possible movements of Grant and Rosecran towards St Louis from junior offices, Bragg consolidated Confederate control over Kansas City and the borderlands of Missouri, stripping the captured Union army of it's weapons, uniforms and supplies and dispatched them southwards to Dallas for imprisonment, taking McClelland with him, the Army of Texas left Kansas City on April 21st and began marching towards St Louis, hoping to arrive there before the possible arrival of Grant and Rosecrans, unknowing whether they would have indeed recieved the message, whether they woudl be reacting to it and where they would be coming from.
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Londinium
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Lord Liverpool
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*Reserved for crap I have to do tomorrow, no further posts other than the Eastern theatre in 1862 to be done before I do this*
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King George III, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hannover and Defender of the Faith.

Lord Liverpool, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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