In Washington, President Abraham Lincoln continued urging his military commanders to move and made the first cabinet change in his administration. In Richmond, President Jefferson Davis handled infighting among his commanders. Federal officials commandeered railroads for military purposes. The Confederate line in Kentucky was broken, and the Federal Navy began impacting the southern war effort.
Prophesizing Disastrous Failure
Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s Confederate army begins moving out of winter quarters at Winchester toward the Potomac River as part of Jackson’s plan to capture Romney.
The Federal Stalemate in the Western Theater
Abraham Lincoln tries to coordinate action in the Western Theater, but his generals are reluctant to comply.
The government of Great Britain receives the official news that the U.S. would release Confederate envoys James Mason and John Slidell, thus averting an international crisis.
Desperate for action, Abraham Lincoln calls a meeting of the Army of the Potomac’s top brass without General-in-Chief George B. McClellan.
A Federal detachment led by a future U.S. president moves to drive Confederates out of southeastern Kentucky.
The Champagne and Oysters Must Stop
Abraham Lincoln addresses corruption in the War Department by appointing a new secretary determined to wage more aggressive war.
Two Distinct and Different Plans
General-in-Chief George B. McClellan develops a plan of attack and defends his military secrecy to increasingly skeptical politicians and subordinates.
Abraham Lincoln’s repeated requests for Federal forces to launch an invasion of eastern Tennessee continue to go unheeded, causing great frustration.
Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s Confederates seize their objective in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, while Frederick Lander is barred from pursuing Jackson’s men.
Federals and Confederates clash over control of the vital Cumberland Gap on the Confederacy’s fragile defensive line across Kentucky.
Turning Slowly Toward Eastern Tennessee
Don Carlos Buell looks to secure eastern Tennessee for the Federals, but weather and a lack of supplies hamper the mission.
Federals launch their first-ever ironclad warship, thereby changing the course of naval history.
Jefferson Davis arranges to send a troublesome general away from the Confederate seat of government at Richmond.
The President’s General War Order Number 1
Abraham Lincoln designates February 22 as “the day for a general movement of the Land and Naval forces of the United States against the insurgent forces.”
A Most Disagreeable and Unfavorable Position
A group of Confederate officers led by William W. Loring petition Richmond to force Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson to remove them from the miserable town of Romney.
The Radical-dominated Joint Committee seeks to put the blame of the Ball’s Bluff disaster on the shoulders of Charles P. Stone, for both military and political reasons.
Henry W. Halleck receives intelligence convincing him to allow Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew H. Foote to move against Fort Henry on the Tennessee River.
The Resignation of “Stonewall” Jackson
An order from the Confederate secretary of war prompts Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson to submit his resignation from the Confederate army.
Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law that nationalizes the railroads and telegraphs for the war effort.
Last Updated: 2/2/2022