Virginia in the Civil War - Module 2 - First Blood
Channel: Blue Ridge Streaming from WBRA-TV - Roanoke VA
Date: 2021-07-19

The South thought its geographic size gave it an advantage and that the war could be won either on the battlefield or by outlasting the North's will to continue the fight.
Regardless of whether the war was decided by offensive or defensive means, the outcome of war would be 
decided in Virginia—the main home of tobacco, flour mills, textiles, manufacturing, and iron works.
Geologically, there were three different Virginias—the Tidewater, the Piedmont, and the more mountainous 
Blue Ridge—each of which affected the movement of troops in different ways as they traveled across the state.
One-third of the South's railroads were in Virginia and the Civil War became the first war in which railroads played a substantial role.

Sub-Chapter 1: Preparing For War 
Governor John Letcher initially appointed Robert E. Lee to command Virginia's military forces. 
Lee organized the militia, ordered supplies, and called for arms while the Union tried to organize its volunteers into an army. 
Both sides believed one decisive battle would bring victory and an end to the war. 

Sub-Chapter 2: First Battle of Manassas 
Both the Union and Confederate armies were unprepared and inexperienced for battle. 
The first major battle of the war occurred in July when the two sides fought for control of an intersection of two railroads at Manassas Junction, located 35 miles outside Washington. 
The battle raged all day long, first favoring the North, then the South. With the outcome decided in favor of the South, retreating Union soldiers and civilians who had come to watch the battle melded together on the 
roads leading back to Washington, causing additional chaos and confusion. 
It was here at Manassas Junction that General Thomas Jackson earned the name “Stonewall” and became a national hero. 
In the aftermath of the defeat, President Lincoln named George B. McClellan as the top Union general and directed him to create a new, stronger military force. 

Sub-Chapter 3: A Clash of Iron 
As the war began, the North had better ships and the ability to produce more. The Confederates could not match the North's industrial might, so Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory wanted to build a 
great ironclad ship that could defeat the larger and more numerous Northern vessels. 
The South took the hull of USS Merrimack and from it constructed the ironclad CSS Virginia. 
In March 1862, the CSS Virginia bolstered Southern morale by defeating two Union ships in Hampton Roads. 
The next day, the CSS Virginia fought the USS Monitor, another ironclad, to a draw. 
The day of ironclad warfare had arrived. 

Sub-Chapter 4: The Peninsula Campaign 4
In March 1862, General McClellan took the offensive. McClellan did not want to confront Confederate troops head-on so he took his men down the Potomac River and through the Chesapeake Bay to the peninsula between the James and York Rivers. His aim was to advance on Richmond from the southeast. 
 
Sub-Chapter 5: Jackson in the Shenandoah 
Due to Jackson’s military success in the Shenandoah Valley, President Lincoln had to change his original war strategy by withdrawing some of McClellan's forces from the Peninsula to defend Washington. 
The Union offensive was further reduced due to weather and General McClellan’s lack of speed. Jackson had successfully turned the war around in Virginia 
At the Battle of Seven Pines, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston stopped McClellan, with the capital of Richmond only nine miles away. 
Sub-Chapter 6: Lee Takes Command 
In the aftermath of Johnston's wounding at Seven Pines, Jefferson Davis named Robert E. Lee commander of the Confederate army. 
Lee made plans for a counterattack and directed Jeb Stuart and his cavalrymen find the location of General McClellan’s flank. 
Through a combined series of actions in the Seven Days' Battles, Lee’s Confederates attacked McClellan's flank and cut off his supplies. 
By doing this, General Lee saved the capital of the Confederacy. 

Sub-Chapter 7: Return to Manassas 
General John Pope’s Army of Virginia started south in August with reinforcements from the Army of the 
Potomac, intending to strike Richmond by seizing the rail line at Gordonsville. 
General Lee spilt his force, with Longstreet and Jackson in command of the respective wings. First, Jackson's forces defeated Pope at Cedar Mountain. 
Then at Manassas Junction, Jackson succeeded in cutting off Pope’s supply base, severely weakening the Union forces. 
Consolidating Jackson's forces with Longstreet's, Lee led the Confederates to victory at the Second Battle of Manassas. @BlueRidgeStreaming