Following the Federal defeat at Front Royal in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Nathaniel P. Banks retreats and Abraham Lincoln scrambles to send him reinforcements.
Tag: Edwin M. Stanton
Blind to the Signs of the Times
Abraham Lincoln revokes David Hunter’s order freeing all slaves in his military department. But Lincoln also declared for the first time that he had the power to free slaves as a wartime necessity.
The Peninsula Campaign Finally Begins
George B. McClellan finally mobilizes the Army of the Potomac to begin its grand offensive to destroy the Confederacy.
McClellan Removed as General-in-Chief
Abraham Lincoln issues an executive order removing George B. McClellan as general-in-chief of all U.S. armies and creating new military departments that would report directly to the secretary of war.
Everything Seems to Fail
George B. McClellan coordinates a Federal invasion of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, but unexpected complications thwart his plans.
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.