As soon as war had begun, the Confederates set to work to provide a navy, and among the ships which they fitted up were several ironclad rams. These were made by cutting down the hulks of old wooden warships, and building a sort of iron roof over them, protecting the guns and men. . One of these rams was made from the hull of the Merrimac, a Federal warship which had been sunk at the Norfolk navy yard to prevent its falling into Confederate hands. When the Confederates seized Norfolk they had raised the Merrimac, and made her over into an ironclad. Under the name of Virginia, she set out from Norfolk on her work of destruction. The Merrimac On March 8, 1862, the Merrimac steamed from Norfolk into Hampton Roads, to destroy the blockading squadron and break the blockade. Several wooden frigates were there, and the Monitor, and when the Merrimac appeared, ships and shore March 9. 1862 batteries opened their guns upon her. It had been generally known that the Confederates were building an ironclad, and it was seen at once that this strange-looking craft must be the armored ram. The course of the Merrimac was simple. Entirely ignoring the firing of the fleet, she proceeded to the Cumberland, and stove a hole in her side which soon sent her to the bottom. Next, selecting the Congress as a victim, the Merrimac soon put her out of action, the prey of devouring flames. The Minnesota lay next, but the tide was going and night approaching, so, fearing lest his ship should run aground, the commander of the Merrimac withdrew, returning the next morning to complete his task. Strangely enough, however, one of the three ironclads built for the Union navy was completed just in time to take a hand in this unequal contest. When the Merrimac returned to attack the Minnesota in the morning, it was only to find the frigate guarded by a craft stranger in appearance than the Merrimac herself. The Monitor, as the new Union ironclad was called, showed above the water only a low platform close to the water's level, with a round tower in the middle, mounting two guns. The revolving of this tower made it possible to fire the guns in any direction without waiting to turn the vessel, and was really a new idea in naval warfare. The fight which followed destroyed neither vessel. Indeed, neither was at all seriously injured, although shot and shell fell furiously on both. But the Merrimac had no time to spare to carry out her designs against the Minnesota, and at length steamed away; the Union fleet was saved, the blockade remained unbroken. And the day of wooden warships had forever passed. Meantime the Army of the Potomac was still engaged in the attempt to take Richmond. After many months of drilling and getting ready, McClellan, with one hundred thousand The Peninsular men, had begun his advance toward the Confederate Campaign capital, going by way of Chesapeake Bay and the York peninsula, made famous in Revolutionary days. At Yorktown he found the Confederates with a fortified line across the peninsula. McClellan's force was three times that of the Confederates, but instead of attacking them he began preparations for a siege. After a month, the Confederates quietly withdrew, and strengthened their fortifications nearer the city. McClellan, following, found the road to Richmond held by the main army of the Confederates, at first under General Joseph Johnston, and, after he was wounded, under General Robert E. Lee. Their force, meanwhile, was be BAY City Point Williamsburg Petersburg Yorktown mes 20 SCALE OF MILES Bethel 40 50 Warwick C.H Lee sent River Hampton Fortress Monroe Portsmouth WILLIAMS ENS. CO., NY. Norfolk The Peninsular Campaign Stonewall" Jackson into the Shenandoah Valley, where he could threaten Washington; and Jackson succeeded in so alarming Lincoln that McDowell was recalled to defend the capital. Meantime McClellan's forces were encamped on both sides of the Chickahominy. When a sudden rise of the waters made crossing difficult, Johnston seized the opportunity to attack the division on the southern side at Fair Oaks, but the Union army successfully resisted attack. It was in this battle that Johnston was wounded. After Lee took command, the famous "Seven Days' Battles" were fought, in which McClellan lost fifteen thousand men, and Lee twenty thousand. In all but one of these battles the Union army held the advantage. In the last, at Malvern Hill, McClellan is commonly believed to have thrown away an opportunity to crush Lee's army and capture Richmond. But he did not follow up his victory, and the next day, July 2, saw the end of the campaign, with little, if anything, accomplished. Second battle of Bull Run, August 30, Lee at once pushed northward, and in August, 1862, attacked a division of the Union army near the Bull Run battlefield. This battle again brought victory to the South. Lee advanced farther, crossing into Maryland. When the Confederates entered the state, singing "Maryland, 1862; Antietam my Maryland," they expected to find a strong southSeptember 17, ern feeling there. Lee looked for sympathy, supplies, and recruits. But he met the coldest of receptions. In Frederick he found stores closed and streets deserted. 1862 Antietam Bridge The scene of fierce fighting during the early part of the battle. McClellan met him at Sharpsburg, and here, near the northern bank of the Potomac, the great battle of Antietam was fought. This battle checked Lee's advance, though it did not destroy his army or prevent his withdrawal into Virginia. It is sometimes spoken of as a poor or barren victory for the Union forces, but it was worth much at that time of discouragement to gain any victory at all. The President had been anxiously watching and hoping for a success in the field. We must not forget that while generals and soldiers struggled with military problems and campaign plans, no |