Although at the outbreak of the war the Union may have had skewed expectations, the first Union offensive put an end to any hopes of quick and easy victory.

In July 1861, at the Battle of Bull Run, or what the South called First Manassas, the Confederates used some of the brightest and best in military talent to defeat the rather haphazard Union soldiers marching into Virginia. Not only were McDowell's troops inexperienced, not to mention threatened with Confederate forces so near Washington, D.C., but they also suffered from overconfidence.

The Confederate army of General Beauregard maintained a line along Bull Run Creek (or Manassas Junction), and the Virginia brigade led by Thomas J. Jackson was at the line's center. His stubborn defense earned him the nickname “Stonewall Jackson,” for his troops remained standing like a stone wall.

In February 1862, Union gunboats led by Commodore Andrew Foote steamed up the Tennessee River to reach Fort Henry, where the plan called for an amphibious attack en route to Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. Ulysses S. Grant led forces on land, but the muddy roads they traversed slowed them. Foote grew impatient and fired, wreaking havoc with the forts walls and Rebel guns. With floodwaters flowing in, the Southern forces raised the white flag.

Most of the escaping Confederates sought shelter at Fort Donelson. Grant's army pursued them by land, reinforced by the gunboats making their way up the river. But with this fort situated high on a bluff, the fire by water did little but cause a retaliatory hail of bullets. While the Confederates damaged Yankee vessels, the fleet retreated downriver. This left Grant's army without reinforcement, though it seemed to hold its own in the fighting. Union soldiers broke Confederate lines and caused acting General Buckner to surrender. Buckner, who had known Grant before the Civil War, expected generous surrender terms. That was wishful thinking, for Grant demanded unconditional and immediate surrender, earning him the nickname “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.

Soon after these forts were taken, Union troops took Tennessee's capital at Nashville, giving them a commanding presence in Southern territory, especially along the rivers. The march farther south commenced.

In early April 1862, Grant was in a holding pattern in Tennessee while he waited for another Union commander to join him in a campaign toward Corinth, Mississippi. However, Confederate commander Albert Johnston's troops struck Grant's army by surprise. Grant lost approximately 13,000 men and the Confederates almost as many in a bloody battle known as Shiloh (ironically, the Hebrew word for “place of peace”). Shiloh's savagery shocked many on both sides of the war.

The Peninsular Campaign

Also that spring, with General McClellan in charge, the Union army began its Peninsular campaign, advancing by way of the peninsula between the James and York Rivers in Virginia in order to reach Richmond, the Confederate capital. But McClellan was not a decisive leader, and he was dreadfully slow, delaying the assault on Richmond. The resulting Seven Days' Battle, fought in late June 1862, led to an alarming number of casualties. Lincoln's administration held McClellan responsible for not taking Richmond, while McClellan blamed the president for not sending reinforcements.

Capturing New Orleans

Though most of the nation's attention was focused on the peninsula, the Union needed to gain control of New Orleans if it ever wanted to navigate the Mississippi River and effectively blockade the South. In April 1862, Flag Officer David Farragut, with a squadron of ships carrying federal troops, started up the Mississippi and arrived on April 25, demanding surrender. As the Confederates numbered only 3,000, they gave up easily, inflicting a painful loss on the South.

The Second Battle of Bull Run

Upon the failure of the Peninsular campaign, Lincoln named Henry Hal-leck as the top general of the Union armies. Halleck ordered McClellan to bring his men back to Washington, for Lincoln was not about to leave Washington, D.C., unguarded. Organized in June 1862, the Army of Virginia had 45,000 troops and a fresh commander, Major General John Pope. Pope soon marched south with hopes of taking Richmond.

Robert E. Lee was determined to keep the Union out of his native Virginia. He sent Stonewall Jackson and 12,000 Confederate troops to block Pope's advance. The Yankees struck first, sending Jackson's men back until they regrouped and drove the Union from the field. The still-green Pope felt he'd better retreat, so he withdrew to the north side of the Rappahannock River while waiting for McClellan's troops.

However, Lee sensed an opportunity. With others in his company, Lee rushed to join Jackson, and on August 25, 1862, Confederate forces moved in on the Union at Manassas (site of the First Battle of Bull Run), capturing their supply station and treating themselves to a feast of food. The weary Rebels were now better nourished, and probably happier, as they marched away with sacks full of provisions and supplies, including new shoes. On August 29, Pope's men attacked Jackson's soldiers. The Confederate defensive was weak, and Pope fully believed he'd defeated Jackson. He even wired Washington of his victory. Then on the following day, the Confederates reinforced Jackson, defeating the Union's forces.

A humiliated Pope retreated toward Washington with enormous losses after what became known as the Second Battle of Bull Run. Victorious, Lee determined that it was time to move his campaign across the Potomac, into the North.

Fredericksburg

When McClellan continued to be a hesitant leader, Lincoln replaced him with Major General Ambrose Burnside. But in December 1862, Lee defeated Burnside at Fredericksburg, Virginia, south of the Rappahannock River, in a long day of needless slaughter. Refusing to heed the warnings of fellow generals, Burnside sent his troops into Lee's fire. Again, the cry came forth for better military leadership.

Thus, Lincoln relieved Burnside of his command and put Major General Joseph Hooker in place. “Fighting Joe,” as he was called, was certainly more aggressive, and he restored the troops' spirits. In late April 1863, he set off to outfox Lee.

The Union general jumped most of his troops upstream of Lee's forces on the Rappahannock, but Hooker must have gotten spooked, for he quickly ordered his men onto the defensive. Now Lee had the advantage and used it, striking hard. The fighting was so intense that fire erupted in the dry leaves and brush, choking the battle lines with smoke and burning some soldiers alive. Hooker pulled his army back across the Rappahannock, having lost 17,000 of his fighting force.

Victory was short-lived for the Confederates, however, as Stonewall Jackson succumbed to pneumonia after being wounded. He died that May, and the Confederates would soon miss his military skill. President Lincoln, fairly fed up with Hooker's lack of military prowess, replaced him with Major General George Meade in June.