The first 18 months of war

Old-fashioned military history has made a small comeback in the profession in recent years. No doubt this is in some measure due to our current military entanglements. But it is not nearly as prominent as it once was, particularly in the context of a collegiate-level Civil War class. Today, we ask a much wider range of interpretive questions about the Civil War Era than we did 50 years ago, when interest picked up during the war centennial in the 1960s. The design of this course reflects many, yet certainly not all, of this interpretive myriad. All the same, military history - the who, where, what, when - and more importantly - "why" of the battles remains important to any true understanding of the conflict. What happened on the battlefield had a symbiotic relationship with the broader changes taking place in America, having a direct impact upon their course.

Today (and likely into Wednesday and possibly next week) we will look at the first 18 months of the war. It is important to pay attention to chronology more than specific dates of battles. Yet dates also remain important. The sequence of events is key in war, because precise moments dictate subsequent outcomes. Therefore, I hope that you pay particular attention to the sequence of events and their significance during the lecture. 

Explanations of battles will not get into the deeply detailed terrain of inside-baseball military history. But I will explain to you in broad strokes the key moments so you have a better understanding of how the observers and participants judged the results of the conflict. 

To lend some structure to what for some will be an endless array of place and proper names and dates, I supply an overview of what we will cover:

• The clashes of 1861: May to December: Virginia, Western Kentucky, and Missouri
• The West in early '62: January to June: From Donelson to the fall of New Orleans and Memphis by way of Shiloh and the fall of Beauregard and the rise of Grant and Halleck
• The East in early '62: April through July: The Peninsular Campaign and the Seven Days' Battles / The Valley Campaign. The rise of Lee and Jackson, the first fall of McClellan
•  The East in mid '62: August - Second Bull Run and the fall of Pope and recall of McClellan
• The Confederate Offensive of '62: Late August through early October: Bragg and Kirby Smith in Kentucky, Lee in Maryland.
• The West in late '62: June through December: Continued Confederate Failures: Baton Rouge, Iuka, Corinth. The fall of Van Dorn and Price and the rise of Sherman.
• The Mess in the East, late '62: October through December: the last fall of McClellan, Rise and fall of Hooker and Fredericksburg.

Note the useful LINK to the MAP on the right hand margin of this blog!

The sunken road at Antietam as it appeared in 2007. 

Antietam Creek.