1862: The Pivotal Year of the American Civil War - From the Valley Campaign to the Emancipation Proclamation

The Changing Character of the War in 1862

Casualties and Military Imagery - Private Edwin Tennyson was killed in action at Malvern Hill on $07/01/1862$ . - Field photography became a staple of the war, with photographers capturing portraits for soldiers to send home and documenting action as much as slow shutter speeds and cumbersome equipment allowed. - An iconic photograph near the Battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia, features Captain George Armstrong Custer and J. B. Washington. Washington was a Confederate Lieutenant, a West Point classmate and close friend of Custer, who had been captured by Federal pickets that morning.
Societal Shifts in the North and Midwest - By $1862$ , over $1,000,000$ farm workers had enlisted in the Union Army. - Travelers in the Midwest reported seeing more women than men working in the fields, marking a major shift in labor demographics. - The year began with Northern optimism following U. S. Grant’s triumphs at Fort Donelson and Shiloh, but these were soon overshadowed by Eastern disasters.
Leadership Dynamics - Union: General George McClellan commanded the army outside Richmond. despite possessing vastly greater forces, he lacked the will to fight. - Confederacy: Robert E. Lee began to emerge as a brilliant commander, establishing a reputation as one of history's greatest military leaders. - International Pressure: In Blackburn, England, public meetings declared a Northern victory impossible and called for a negotiated settlement. Europe was poised to recognize the Confederacy, leading to a fear that the Union would lose the game.
Lincoln’s Shift in Strategy - Abraham Lincoln recognized that the old Union could not be restored; a new one had to be embraced. - By the summer of $1862$ , Lincoln identified emancipation as the necessary tactic to win the war, though he awaited a political and military opportunity to implement it. - George Templeton Strong, a New York lawyer, noted in his diary that these were the darkest days since Bull Run, yet the war would soon see its bloodiest and brightest days.

General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and the Valley Campaign

Jackson’s Military Philosophy - Rule of thumb: "Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy." - Tactical advice: Never fight against heavy odds if you can hurl your force on a part of the enemy and crush it. A small army can destroy a large one through repeated victory.
Character and Eccentricities of "Stonewall" Jackson - A pious, blue-eyed killer who believed it was a man's entire duty to pray and fight. - A strict observer of the Sabbath who would not mail a letter that would be in transit on a Sunday (ironically, many of his battles occurred on Sundays). - Believed that pepper in his food made his left leg ache. - Often sucked on lemons, even during battle, and believed he had to keep one hand in the air to maintain his balance. - Attitude toward Suffering: During a battle, when informed that a young courier had been killed, Jackson simply said, "Very commendable, very commendable," and dismissed it. - Demands on Troops: He provided only a musket, $100$ rounds, and a gum blanket. He was known for $36$ mile-a-day marches, earning his troops the nickname "foot cavalry."
The Shenandoah Valley Campaign Details - Force Size: Jackson had $17,000$ men operating against three Federal armies, each larger than his own. - Key Battles: Winchester, Front Royal, Cross Keys, Port Republic. - Results: In just over a month, his men marched almost $400$ miles, inflicted $7,000$ casualties, seized significant supplies, and kept $40,000$ Federal troops from reinforcing the Peninsula. - Anecdote: During the retreat at Winchester, Nathaniel Banks shouted to his troops, "Don't you love your country?" A soldier replied, "Yes, by God, and I'm trying to get back to it just as fast as I can."

The Occupation of New Orleans and "Beast" Butler

Benjamin F. Butler’s Governance - Named military governor of New Orleans on $05/01/1862$ . - Actions: Hanged a man for desecrating the American flag, closed secessionist newspapers, and confiscated property of those refusing the loyalty oath. - General Order No. 28: Issued after a woman dumped a chamber pot on Admiral Farragut. It stated that any female insulting Union officers/soldiers would be treated as a "woman of the town, plying her avocation" (a prostitute). - Reaction: Southerners nicknamed him "The Beast." In Charleston, a $10,000$ reward was offered for his capture, dead or alive. New Orleans entrepreneurs sold chamber pots with his face inside the bowl.

Evolution of the Slavery Question

Refugees and Contrabands - Slaves began fleeing to Union lines, creating a logistical and political issue for the War Department and Congress. - Congress, controlled by Republicans, forbade the army from returning slaves to masters and, in June, outlawed slavery in the territories, reversing the Dred Scott decision.
Lincoln’s Initial Approaches - Lincoln initially favored a plan to pay $400$ for every freed slave and encouraged colonization in Africa or Central America. - Abolitionist Criticism: Wendell Phillips called Lincoln a "first-rate, second-rate man" and mocked colonization, saying it was like a man colonizing his own hands or his revolver when a robber is in the house. - Ralph Waldo Emerson stated: "Emancipation is the demand of civilization. That is a principle. All else is intrigue."

The Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days Battles

Battle of Fair Oaks (Seven Pines) - Occurred on May 31. McClellan's forces were divided by the flooded Chickahominy River. - Casualties: North lost $5,000$ ; South lost $6,000$ . - Outcome: Confederate commander Joseph Johnston was severely wounded. He remarked that the shot that struck him was the best for the Confederacy because it allowed Robert E. Lee to succeed him.
Robert E. Lee’s Command - Lee renamed his force the Army of Northern Virginia. - Jeb Stuart’s Ride: To scout McClellan, Stuart led $1,200$ troopers on a $3$ day, $150$ mile ride entirely around McClellan’s army, burning camps and accepting bouquets. - The Seven Days Battles ( $06/26$ through July): Included Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill, Savages Station, Fraser’s Farm, and Malvern Hill. - Tactics: Lee divided his smaller force to attack the larger Union army, gambling on McClellan’s caution. - Casualties: Lee lost $20,000$ men in a week. Despite winning most of the tactical engagements, McClellan retreated to Harrison's Landing. Lincoln remarked that sending men to McClellan was like "shoveling fleas across a barnyard."

The Coastal War and Sea Islands Experiment

Military Actions: Fort Pulaski, Georgia surrendered; fighting occurred at Foyd's Plantation (NC), St. Andrews Bay (FL), War Trace (TN), and Albuquerque (NM).
The "Nigger Question": At Sea Islands, Georgia, $10,000$ former slaves were left behind by fleeing planters. Missionaries and teachers arrived to start "anti-slavery work." - John Boston's Letter: A runaway slave who wrote to his wife, describing himself as a free man led by the Lord as the children of Israel were led to Canaan.
Homefront Impact: In Deer Isle, Maine, the first casualty (Corporal Charles Gray) was reported at the Battle of New Bern. His personal effects included the mangled bullet that killed him.

Second Bull Run and the Maryland Campaign

General John Pope - Lincoln replaced McClellan with Pope. Pope bragged his headquarters were "in the saddle," leading to jokes that his headquarters were where his hindquarters should be. - Stonewall Jackson fought Pope at Cedar Mountain and later raided his headquarters, stealing $35,000$ and Pope’s dress coat.
Second Battle of Bull Run (August 29-30) - Confederate General James Longstreet sent five divisions into the Union flank. - Casualties: $25,000$ men (killed, wounded, or missing). - Lincoln reluctantly reinstated McClellan after Pope’s disaster.
Lee’s Invasion of Maryland - Aimed to force European recognition and encourage Marylanders to join the South. - Special Orders 191: On September 13, Union soldiers found Lee’s battle plans wrapped around three cigars. McClellan knew Lee’s army was divided but waited $18$ hours to act.

The Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)

General Context: Fought on $09/17/1862$ . The bloodiest single day in American history.
The Three Phases: 1. The Cornfield / Dunker Church ( $6:00$ a.m.): General Joe Hooker attacked Stonewall Jackson. The cornfield changed hands $15$ times. The $12^{th}$ Massachusetts lost $224$ out of $334$ men. John Bell Hood’s Confederate division was nearly destroyed. 2. Bloody Lane (The Sunken Road): General John B. Gordon’s Confederates held a natural rifle pit. Gordon was shot five times (twice in the leg, once in the arm, once in the shoulder, and finally through the face). The road filled with bodies two and three deep. 3. The Stone Bridge: General Ambrose Burnside’s $12,500$ men were held off for $3$ hours by $400$ Georgians under Robert Toombs. General A. P. Hill’s "Light Division" arrived from Harpers Ferry in the nick of time, wearing his signature red battle shirt, to repel the final Union advance.
Casualties: - Union: $2,108$ dead; $10,293$ wounded/missing. - Confederate: $10,318$ total casualties (roughly $1/4$ of Lee’s army).
Result: Lee retreated to Virginia. McClellan failed to pursue, leading Lincoln to relieve him of command permanently.

The Emancipation Proclamation

Preliminary Proclamation: Issued on $09/22/1862$ , five days after Antietam.
The Decree: All persons held as slaves within states in rebellion on $01/01/1863$ shall be "thenceforth, and forever free."
International Impact: John Stuart Mill noted the war was a turning point for the civilized world. England and France could no longer support a Confederacy fighting against a Union pledged to end slavery.
Lincoln’s Address to Congress (December): "The fiery trials through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation… In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free."
Final Implementation ( $12/31/1862$ ): Celebrated by Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Former slaves in contraband camps and Sea Islands recognized the decree as the end of family separations.

Questions & Discussion

Why were Southern soldiers fighting if they weren't all slave owners? - A Southerner would say, "I'm fighting because you're down here." They viewed it as defending their homes from invasion.
What was the significance of the "Dear Sam Junior" letter from Margaret Houston? - It listed numerous local boys killed (Lamb Abercrombie, Jeff Montgomery, etc.), illustrating how state/county-based regiments meant entire cohorts of young men from a single town could be wiped out in one battle.
How did Lincoln justify the shift from preserving the Union to Emancipation? - He initially stated his paramount object was to save the Union regardless of slavery's status, but later concluded that freeing the slaves was the "last best hope of earth" and a necessary war measure to ennoble the carnage into a "great work of redemption."