Southerners clamored for relief from economic hardship. Anti-war sentiment gained popularity in the North. Federals attacked Charleston, and Ulysses S. Grant continued threatening Vicksburg, one of the last Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi River. Joseph Hooker prepared his Federal army along the Rappahannock River to confront Lee’s Confederates once more.
The Severest Blow That Can Be Struck
Ulysses S. Grant finally concedes the impossibility of capturing the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg from the north and begins to develop another, more daring, plan.
A mob of hungry citizens storm the business district of the Confederate capital demanding relief from the epidemic of shortages plaguing the Confederacy.
Confederates try to break the tight Federal hold on the coast of North Carolina by targeting the town of Washington.
Abraham Lincoln heads a group that travels out to Virginia to review Joseph Hooker’s revamped Army of the Potomac.
Federal ironclad warships attack the Confederate forts guarding Charleston Harbor in what becomes the largest naval attack of the war.
The Battle of Charleston: Aftermath
Rear-Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont angrily refutes claims that he should not have retreated in the recent naval battle in Charleston Harbor.
For Want of Proper Subsistence and Intelligence
Robert E. Lee deals with shortages in his Confederate army as well as health issues while he tries to determine what the Federals have in store for him in northeastern Virginia.
Southerners endure greater hardships than ever before, especially west of the Mississippi River. This leads to growing unrest and discontent.
Confederate forces under James Longstreet attack the Federal garrison at Suffolk, Virginia, south of the James River.
Calls for peace grow louder in the North, especially among Democrats known as “Copperheads.” The military responds with draconian orders against civilian protest.
Joseph Hooker’s new Federal Cavalry Corps leaves Falmouth to cut the Confederate supply lines preparatory to a main attack on Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
Federals Control the Atchafalaya
Nathaniel P. Banks avoids attacking the Confederate garrison at Port Hudson by instead targeting objectives in western Louisiana.
Vicksburg: Grant and Porter Assemble
Ulysses S. Grant assembles his Federal troops at Milliken’s Bend as David D. Porter prepares to pass the Vicksburg batteries with his Mississippi River Squadron.
Colonel Benjamin Grierson sets out with 1,700 Federal cavalrymen to divert attention from Ulysses S. Grant’s army landing below Vicksburg.
We Cannot Control the Elements
Joseph Hooker’s plan to confront the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia hits a snag when his cavalry gets caught in torrential rain.
Joseph Hooker is forced to adjust his plan to attack the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia due to heavy rains, and confidence within the Federal Army of Potomac begins to wane.
Vicksburg: Transports Run the Batteries
A fleet of transports and supply vessels tries to duplicate David D. Porter’s feat of passing the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg and joining the Federal forces downriver.
Vicksburg: Grant’s First Phase Unfolds
Ulysses S. Grant positions his Federals to cross the Mississippi River below the stronghold of Vicksburg, while Confederate commander John C. Pemberton tries to determine where Grant’s main strike would be.
Hooker’s New Offensive is Set to Begin
Joseph Hooker issues marching orders for the Army of the Potomac to begin a new campaign against Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia at Fredericksburg.
Vicksburg: Grant Looks to Divert Attention
The first phase of Ulysses S. Grant’s plan to capture Vicksburg ends successfully with his Federals poised to cross the Mississippi River below Vicksburg. But Grant needs a diversion to ensure further success.
The first phase of Joseph Hooker’s campaign to destroy Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia is executed to perfection, with phase two involving a drive on the small hamlet of Chancellorsville.
The flying column of Joseph Hooker’s Federal Army of the Potomac crosses the Rapidan River, while Robert E. Lee begins to realize the real threat to his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia is coming from the north.
Last Updated: 4/29/2023