Peninsula Campaign
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McClellan and Johnston of the Peninsula Campaign |
The
Peninsula Campaign (also known as the
Peninsular Campaign) of the
American Civil War was a major
Union operation launched in southeastern
Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the
Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by
Major General George McClellan, was an amphibious turning movement intended to capture
Richmond (the
Confederate capital) by circumventing the Confederate Army in northern Virginia. McClellan was initially successful against the equally cautious General
Joseph E. Johnston, but the emergence of General
Robert E. Lee changed the character of the campaign and turned it into a humiliating Union defeat.
Although they are formally considered part of the Peninsula Campaign, the final battles of
June 25 to
July 1, with Lee in command and on the offensive against McClellan, are popularly known as the
Seven Days Battles, and are described in their own article.
McClellan spent the winter of 1861–62 training his new Army of the Potomac and fighting off calls from
President Abraham Lincoln to advance against the Confederates. Lincoln was particularly concerned about the army of General Joseph E. Johnston at
Centreville, just 30 miles from
Washington. McClellan greatly overestimated Johnston's strength and shifted his objective from that army to the Confederate capital of Richmond. He proposed to move by water to
Urbanna on the
Rappahannock River and then overland to Richmond before Johnston could move to block him. Although Lincoln favored the overland approach, because it would shield Washington from any attack while the operation was in progress, McClellan argued that the road conditions in Virginia were intolerable, that he had arranged adequate defenses for the capital, and that Johnston would certainly follow him if he moved on Richmond. This plan was discussed for three months in the capital until Lincoln approved McClellan's proposal in early March. By
March 9, however, Johnston withdrew his army from Centreville to
Culpeper, making McClellan's Urbanna plan impracticable. Little Mac then proposed to sail to
Fort Monroe and then up the
Virginia Peninsula (the narrow strip of land between the
James and
York rivers) to Richmond. Lincoln reluctantly agreed.
Before departing for the Peninsula, McClellan moved the Army of the Potomac to Centreville on a "shakedown" march. He discovered there how weak Johnston's force and position had really been, and faced mounting criticism. On
March 11, Lincoln's War Order No. 3 relieved McClellan of his position as general-in-chief of the Union armies, so that he could devote his full attention to the difficult campaign ahead of him. The Army of the Potomac began to embark for Fort Monroe on
March 17.
The Army of the Potomac had approximately 50,000 men at Fort Monroe when McClellan arrived, but this number grew to 121,500 before hostilities began. Transporting these men, almost 15,000 horses and mules, and 1,150 wagons was an enormous task. It required 113 steamships, 188 schooners, and 88 barges. The army was organized into three corps and other units, as follows:
*
II Corps, Brig. Gen.
Edwin V. Sumner commanding: divisions of Brig. Gens.
Israel B. Richardson and
John Sedgwick*
III Corps, Brig. Gen.
Samuel P. Heintzelman commanding: divisions of Brig. Gens.
Fitz John Porter,
Joseph Hooker, and
Charles S. Hamilton*
IV Corps, Brig. Gen.
Erasmus D. Keyes commanding: divisions of Brig. Gens.
Darius N. Couch,
William F. "Baldy" Smith, and
Silas Casey* 1st Division of the
I Corps, Brig. Gen.
William B. Franklin commanding
* Reserve infantry commanded by Brig. Gen.
George Sykes* Cavalry commanded by Brig. Gen.
George Stoneman* The garrison of Fort Monroe, 12,000 men under Maj. Gen.
John E. Wool; Wool was quickly transferred to another department for duty in Baltimore after the War Department realized that he technically outranked McClellan.
On the Confederate side, Johnston's
Army of Northern Virginia (newly named as of
March 14) was organized into three wings, each composed of several brigades, as follows:
* Left Wing, Maj. Gen.
D. H. Hill commanding: brigades of Brig. Gen.
Robert E. Rodes,
Winfield S. Featherston,
Jubal A. Early, and
Gabriel J. Raines* Center Wing, Maj. Gen.
James Longstreet commanding: brigades of Brig. Gens.
A.P. Hill,
Richard H. Anderson,
George E. Pickett,
Cadmus M. Wilcox,
Raleigh E. Colston, and
Roger A. Pryor* Right Wing, Maj. Gen.
John B. Magruder commanding: division of Brig. Gen.
Lafayette McLaws (brigades of Brig. Gens.
Paul J. Semmes,
Richard Griffith,
Joseph B. Kershaw, and
Howell Cobb) and division of Brig. Gen.
David R. Jones (brigades of Brig. Gens.
Robert A. Toombs and
George T. Anderson)
* Reserve force commanded by Maj. Gen.
Gustavus W. Smith* Cavalry commanded by Brig. Gen.
J.E.B. StuartHowever, at the time the Army of the Potomac arrived, only Magruder's 13,000 men faced them on the Peninsula. The bulk of Johnston's force (43,000 men) were at Culpeper, 6,000 under Maj. Gen.
Theophilus H. Holmes at
Fredericksburg, and 9,000 under Major General
Benjamin Huger at Norfolk. In Richmond, General Robert E. Lee had returned from work on coastal fortifications in the Carolinas and on
March 13 became the chief military adviser to
Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Forces in the Shenandoah Valley played an indirect role in the campaign. Approximately 50,000 men under Maj. Gens.
Nathaniel P. Banks and
Irvin McDowell were engaged chasing a much smaller force under
Stonewall Jackson in the
Valley Campaign. Jackson's expert maneuvering and tactical success in small battles kept the Union men from reinforcing McClellan, much to his dismay. He had planned to have 30,000 under McDowell to join him.
Battle of Hampton Roads (March 8–9, 1862): On
March 8, the world awoke to the first combat of
ironclad ships as the new
CSS Virginia made its entrance before the wooden Union warships blockading the entrance from the
Chesapeake Bay to
Hampton Roads and wreaked devastation and fear upon them. However, the next day,
Virginia was met by the new Union ironclad
USS Monitor. The two ironclads fought an inconclusive battle, with each retreating at the end of the day.
Hampton Roads caused a newfound sense of concern because the Army's transport ships could be attacked by this new weapon directly in their path. And the
U.S. Navy failed to assure McClellan that they could protect operations on either the James or the York, so his plan of amphibiously enveloping
Yorktown was abandoned and he ordered an advance up the Peninsula to begin
April 4. On
April 5, McClellan learned that McDowell's corps would not be joining him at Fort Monroe. In addition to the pressure of Jackson's Valley Campaign, President Lincoln believed that McClellan had left insufficient force to guard Washington and that the general had been deceptive in his reporting of unit strengths, counting troops as ready to defend Washington when they were actually deployed elsewhere. McClellan protested vociferously that he was being forced to lead a major campaign without his promised resources, but he moved ahead anyway.
;
Battle of Yorktown (1862) (
April 5 –
May 4,
1862): The Union army advanced to
Yorktown (site of the
1781 surrender of
Lord Cornwallis to
George Washington), where Magruder's 13,000 men had entrenched a line on both sides of the town and along the Warwick River, stretching almost completely across the Peninsula. McClellan decided to besiege Yorktown and spent almost a month assembling the heavy artillery and supplies he felt necessary for the task. Magruder, who was an amateur actor before the war, was able to fool McClellan by ostentatiously marching small numbers of troops past the same position multiple times, appearing to be a larger force. On
May 3, Johnston ordered Magruder to evacuate Yorktown and withdraw up the Peninsula to join the rest of the army. During McClellan's lengthy delay, caused in part by weather, logistical difficulties, and Little Mac's apparent lack of nerve, Johnston had adequate time to redeploy his army in defense of Richmond. Elements of James Longstreet's wing, deployed as the rear guard for the withdrawal, occupied some of Magruder's entrenchments. On
May 4, a minor skirmish occurred between the two armies. Stoneman's Union cavalry also skirmished with Jeb Stuart.
;
Battle of Williamsburg (
May 5,
1862): The first pitched battle of the campaign included nearly 41,000 Union men and 32,000 Confederates. McClellan was absent in the rear most of the day and the operational command of the Union Army fell to Sumner, who would cautiously employ only half of the army. Joseph Hooker's division encountered the Confederate rear guard near Williamsburg. Hooker assaulted
Fort Magruder, an earthen fortification alongside the Williamsburg Road (from Yorktown), but was repulsed. Longstreet counterattacked and threatened to overwhelm the Union left flank, until Brig. Gen.
Philip Kearny's brigade arrived to stabilize the Federal position.
Winfield S. Hancock's brigade then moved to threaten the Confederate left flank, occupying two abandoned redoubts. The Confederates counterattacked unsuccessfully. Hancock's localized success was not exploited. The Confederate army continued its withdrawal during the night. Although the battle was essentially inconclusive, and a disappointment for the Union because it failed to destroy the much smaller force in front of it, McClellan cabled the War Department, claiming a victory.
;
Battle of Eltham's Landing (or West Point) (
May 7,
1862): McClellan's next plan was to move four divisions (Franklin's, Porter's, Sedgwick's, and Richardson's) one by one up the York River to
West Point, cutting off Johnston's retreat up the Peninsula. Johnston learned of the movement and sent the division of G. W. Smith to intercept Franklin. Smith won a tactical victory over Franklin, dissuading McClellan from any further amphibious movements, despite the continued bad road conditions in the direction of Richmond.
On
May 9, the isolated Confederate force at Norfolk, facing the large Union force across Hampton Roads, evacuated the city and naval base. On
May 11, the CSS
Virginia was blown up to prevent its capture by the U.S. Navy. President Lincoln witnessed this part of the campaign, having arrived on the Peninsula on
May 5, and exercising his direct powers as commander in chief by ordering naval bombardments of Confederate batteries in the area on
May 8.
;
Battle of Drewry's Bluff (
May 15,
1862): With Yorktown in Union hands and
Virginia scuttled, the James River was now open to Federal gunboats. On
May 15, five gunboats of the
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, including the ironclads USS
Monitor and
USS Galena, steamed up the James to test the defenses of Richmond. Upon reaching a bend in the river above Dutch Gap, about 7 river miles from Richmond, the five gunboats encountered submerged obstacles and deadly accurate fire from the batteries of
Fort Darling at
Drewry's Bluff, which inflicted severe damage on the
Galena. The Confederate guns, situated 600 feet above the river, were so high that the naval guns could not be elevated enough to engage them. The Navy suffered at least 14 dead and 13 wounded and was turned back. Commander
John Rodgers of the
Galena reported to McClellan that they would be able to land the Union troops within 10 miles of the Confederate capital, but McClellan never took advantage of that ability during the campaign.
McClellan edged cautiously toward Richmond. On
May 18, he reorganized the Army of the Potomac in the field and promoted two major generals to corps command: Fitz John Porter to the new
V Corps and William B. Franklin to the
VI Corps. The army had 105,000 men in position northeast of the city, outnumbering Johnston's 60,000, but due to faulty intelligence from the detective
Allan Pinkerton on McClellan's staff, the Union general believed that
he was outnumbered two to one. Numerous skirmishes between the lines of the armies occurred from
May 23 to
May 26. Tensions were high in the city, particularly following the earlier sounds of the gun battle at Drewry's Bluff.
;
Battle of Hanover Courthouse (
May 27,
1862): As the Union Army drew towards the outer defenses of Richmond, it became divided by the
Chickahominy River, weakening its ability to move troops back and forth along the front. On
May 27, elements of Porter's V Corps extended north to Hanover Courthouse to protect the army's right flank. Porter's objective was to cut the railroad and to open the Telegraph Road for Union reinforcements under Irvin McDowell, which had finally been withdrawn from the Shenandoah Valley and now were marching south from Fredericksburg. McClellan also chose this arrangement presumably to have a strong force protecting his lines of communications from the White House Landing supply depot on the Pamunkey River. Confederate forces, attempting to prevent this maneuver, were defeated just south of Hanover Courthouse after a stiff fight. The Union victory was moot, however, for McDowell's reinforcements were recalled to Fredericksburg after word reached Washington of Nathaniel Banks's rout in the Valley at
First Winchester.
;
Battle of Seven Pines (or Fair Oaks) (
May 31 –
June 1,
1862) : On
May 31, Johnston attempted to capitalize on the Union army's straddle of the rain-swollen Chickahominy River by attacking the two corps (Heintzelman's III Corps and Keyes's IV Corps) south of the river, leaving them isolated from the other three corps north of the river. The Confederate attack plan was complex and not well coordinated, resulting in misdirected movements and delayed attacks, but it succeeded in driving back the IV Corps and inflicting heavy casualties. Both sides fed more and more troops into the action, although the Confederates never achieved the concentrated mass necessary to prevail; of the thirteen brigades on their right flank, no more than four were ever engaged at once. Supported by the III Corps and John Sedgwick's division of Edwin V. Sumner's II Corps (which crossed the river on Sumner's initiative), the Federal position was finally stabilized before the IV Corps could be routed. Gen. Johnston was seriously wounded during the action, and command of the Army of Northern Virginia was assumed temporarily by G.W. Smith; Gen. Robert E. Lee soon assumed permanent command. On
June 1, the Confederates renewed their assaults against the Federals, who had brought up more reinforcements, but made little headway. Both sides claimed victory with roughly equal casualties, but neither's accomplishment was impressive. George B. McClellan's advance on Richmond was halted and Johnston's army fell back into the Richmond defensive works.
General McClellan chose to abandon his offensive operations, to lay siege and await reinforcements he had requested from President Lincoln. He never regained his strategic momentum (for his involvement in the entire war, in fact).
Lee used the month-long pause in McClellan's advance to fortify the defenses of Richmond and extend them south to the James River at
Chaffin's Bluff. On the south side of the James River, defensive lines were built south to a point below
Petersburg. The total length of the new defensive line was about 30 miles. To buy time to complete the new defensive line and prepare for an offensive, Lee repeated the tactic of making a small number of troops seem larger than they really were. McClellan was also unnerved by Jeb Stuart's audacious (but otherwise militarily pointless) cavalry ride completely around the Union army (
June 13–
15).
The second phase of the Peninsula Campaign took a decidedly negative turn for the Union when Lee launched fierce counterattacks just east of Richmond in the
Seven Days Battles (
June 25 –
July 1,
1862). Although none of these battles were significant Confederate tactical victories (and the
Battle of Malvern Hill on the last day was a decisive Confederate defeat), the tenacity of Lee's attacks and the sudden appearance of Stonewall Jackson's "
foot cavalry" on his western flank unnerved McClellan, who pulled his forces back to a base on the James River. Lincoln later ordered the army to return to the
Washington, D.C., area to support General
John Pope's army in the
Northern Virginia Campaign and the
Second Battle of Bull Run. The Virginia Peninsula would be relatively quiet until May 1864, when
Benjamin Butler again invaded as part of the
Bermuda Hundred Campaign.
*
Richmond National Battlefield Park*
Union Army Balloon Corps* Bailey, Ronald H. and the Editors of Time-Life Books,
Forward to Richmond: McClellan's Peninsular Campaign, Time-Life Books, 1983, ISBN 0-8094-4720-7.
* Eicher, David J.,
The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War, Simon & Schuster, 2001, ISBN 0-684-84944-5.
* Esposito, Vincent J.,
West Point Atlas of American Wars, Frederick A. Praeger, 1959.
* Sears, Stephen W.,
To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign, Ticknor and Fields, 1992, ISBN 0-89919-760-6.
*
National Park Service battle descriptions*
Photographs of the Peninsular Campaign*
Stuart's Ride around McClellan*
West Point Atlas map of Peninsular Campaign*
National Park Service Richmond National Battlefield Park*
Map of modern battlefield sites (
PDF format)
