Memphis, Tennessee, citizens watch in horror as the United States Navy overwhelms Confederate naval forces on the Mississippi River. Although the number of vessels on each side is nearly even, many of the Confederate ships are converted commercial steamers manned by civilian captains, setting the stage for the Union rout of the Southern navy. Less…
Union forces continue their march to Richmond. Norfolk is now occupied by Union troops, while the U.S. Navy searches for the Confederates’ flag ship ironclad, CSS Virginia. Boxed in and unable to make a run for freedom because of a low tide and unsuitable wind, the order is given to scuttle the Virginia. Early this…
For the past month, Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, en route to the Confederate capital of Virginia, has besieged Yorktown, Virginia. McClellan’s drive to Richmond, known as the Peninsula campaign (having begun March 17), has not proceeded as planned. Caution on the part of McClellan, the logistics of moving a…