A series of engagements and campaigns in the American Civil War. The first engagement of the Civil War was fought on 21 July 1861 at the first Battle of Bull Run. In a confused mêlée the Confederacy was saved from defeat
A series of engagements and campaigns in the American Civil War. The first engagement of the Civil War was fought on 21 July 1861 at the first Battle of Bull Run. In a confused mêlée the Confederacy was saved from defeat by the brigade of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. In the Peninsula Campaign of April–June 1862 Union (Northern) forces under General McClellan attempted to advance up the peninsula between the James and York rivers to capture Richmond, but in the Seven Days Battle (26 June–2 July) he was forced to withdraw by the Southern commander, General Robert E. Lee. At the same time in the Shenandoah Valley a brilliant campaign by “Stonewall” Jackson pinned down Union forces. The second Battle of Bull Run followed (29–31 August), when Lee forced the Union army to retreat to Washington. The way was open for an invasion of the North, but it ended in defeat at the Battle of Antietam (17 September). Following the Confederate army's escape back to Virginia, the new Union commander, General Ambrose Burnside, launched an assault on Le