The Battle of Seven Pines
Gen. McClellan’s forces were knocking on Richmond’s door and the Confederate Army was running out of options. Plus wartime balloons!
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The biggest yankee in the world
As the army of Gen. George B. McClellan reached the outskirts of Richmond, residents found a diversion from the impending battle in David Van Buskirk–the biggest yankee in the world!
The fall of Norfolk and the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff
Continuing our on-going recap of the Civil War, the Union Army sets its sight on Norfolk. Taking that city would position General George B. McClellan and the Union army within striking distance of Richmond.
The beginning and end of the Siege of Yorktown
Gen. John Magruder and his troops waited as they watched Union Gen. George McClellan bring up more soldiers and artillery to lay siege to Yorktown. Outmanned nearly 10-to-1 before the siege even began, Magruder knew their days at Yorktown were numbered.
The Peninsula Campaign: On to Yorktown!
The Confederate general responsible for defending the Peninsula was a man named John B. Magruder, known to friends as “Prince John.” Known for his concerts and theatrical performances, in April 1862 Magruder would play to McClellan’s paranoia and put on the biggest theatrical performance of his military career.
The Peninsula Campaign begins
The last time we checked in with George B. McClellan, it was November of 1861 and his rank (or his ego) couldn’t go any higher. As he plans an invasion on Richmond, the President’s confidence begins to wane in the general-in-chief.
Battle of the Ironclads
If we were playing a game called “people of the Civil War I would not want to be,” a strong contender for me would be a crew member aboard the wooden sloop of war USS Cumberland preparing to face off against the CCS Virginia.
Martial law in Richmond
In the first week of March 1862, only days after Jefferson Davis gave a speech condemning Lincoln for imprisoning suspected Confederates, dozens of Union sympathizers in Richmond were arrested and imprisoned without due process.
The inauguration of Jefferson Davis
It was February 22nd, George Washington’s birthday, and the day Jefferson Davis was to be inaugurated as president of the Confederate States of America.
The death of President John Tyler
During its years as the Confederate capital, Richmond would see its fair share of state funeral processions winding their way through the streets bound for Hollywood Cemetery. But on January 22nd, 1862, the Confederacy buried their first and only U.S. President: John Tyler
