(Yes I know that this is one of the most covered topics here but oh well...)
If there are any obvious errors or mistakes or if you would just like to help me out with this TL, go adeah and tell me. Thanks! Oh and I have no clue how to post images. I have a lot for this TL but untill I can figure it out, no maps.....
March 6, 1862: A perfect day for the first voyage of the USS Monitor. The ship that would soon battle the CSS Virginia and save the wooden Union blockade ships in Hampton Roads Virginia. While the iron “cheese box” was steaming out of New York Harbor a huge crowd was gathering on the shorelines to see the magnificent vessel for themselves. This day was to be a historic day for the United States of America and the world. The age of wooden ships was over and the age of the ironclad had begun. Little did that crowd that was of the shores of the harbor that quiet day that they would be the last people to see the ship floating ever again. The journey to Hampton Roads would take about two days for the Monitor and the ship would have to hug the coastline for the entire trip because the ship was not designed to travel in deep water. By the afternoon of March 7, the Monitor had reached the mouth of the Delaware River and everything was going according to plan when disaster struck.. During the night before, a huge storm system had moved over the North Atlantic and by the 7th, had begun to release it’s furry. The waves began getting rockier and eventually, the crew lost control of the ship. The Monitor was heading out to sea and would certainly be pushed beneath the waves. As a result, the captain of the Monitor, John L. Worden was forced to abandon ship. By the time that the crew was picked up by a fleet of fishing boats, the USS Monitor was as the bottom of the sea. The only hope of defeating the Confederate Virginia was gone.
The news of the Monitor’s demise spread fast and all through the Union had attempted to suppress the news, Confederate spies in the north got a hold of it and reported it to Richmond. A window of opportunity to suppress the Union’s blockade was wide open and in the early hours of March 8, the CSS Virginia took advantage of it. The five Union ships that were guarding the harbor that morning were the USS Roanoke, Minnesota, Congress, Saint-Lawrence and the Cumberland. The Virginia’s first victim of the day was the 24-cannon Cumberland. The Cumberland and the Congress had begun opening fire on the Virginia, but the cannonballs just bounces right off of her, the Virginia however, did not return fire, instead she smashed into the Cumberland below the waterline the ship sank quickly. Following the destruction of the Cumberland, The Virginia, turned it’s attention to the USS Congress. Seeing what had happened to the Cumberland a few minutes before though, the captain of the Congress, Lieutenant Joseph B. Smith ordered that his ship be run aground in order to prevent the Virginia from ramming it. This decision actually backfired when the James River Squadron joined the Virginia in the assault on the Congress. Because it was stuck on a sandbar, and could not escape, the Congress was forced to surrender after an hour of fighting. Following the surrender of the Congress, the James River Squadron began to focus on the USS Minnesota and had forced her aground like the Congress and following the surrender of the Congress's crew, the Virginia rejoined the fight. The falling tide however, made her unable to be of any use so the Virginia and the James River Squadron steamed back to Confederate held waters for the night and to undergo temporary repairs.
As the next day came, the Virginia as well as three new ships from the James River Squadron moved in to finish off the remaining Union fleet. The Minnesota however, had not received news of the Monitor’s fate and still believed that the ironclad would come to it’s rescue. It soon realized that no help was to be forthcoming other than for the obsolete Roanoke and Saint-Lawrence. The Virginia left the Minnesota to the James River Squadron and turned her attention to the Roanoke and Saint-Lawrence. The Virginia steamed towards the Roanoke as the ship launched desperate salvos in a last ditch effort to halt the Virginia’s charge. However, like the Cumberland, the Virginia succeeded in striking the Roanoke and within ten minutes, the was listing. Meanwhile, the Minnesota had finally realized that she was doomed and surrendered to the James River Squadron. that left just the Saint-Lawrence but the Virginia would never fight her because the Saint-Lawrence was fleeing Hampton Roads for the safety of Union controlled waters. The battle of Hampton Roads would prove to be a major victory for the Confederacy. The Virginia had only 20 wounded men while the Union had lost four frigates as well as control of the Hampton Roads region.
The News of the Confederate Victory over the Union fleet in Hampton Roads spread like Wildfire in both the Confederacy and the Union. In Richmond A public holiday was declared and would later be know as “Navy Day” Realizing that ships like the CSS Virginia could be a war winner, the Confederate President, Jefferson Davis ordered that several new ironclads be build in Charleston, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Wilmington, Memphis and Mobile. The CSS Virginia herself now began concentration on the Union held positions in and around the Hampton Roads area. This campaign would seriously threaten General George McClellan campaign on the Virginia Peninsula and following the defeat at Hampton Roads, the U.S. Navy informed McClellan that they could no longer insure operations on the York of the James River. McClellan hesitated to advance, but was forced to because of calls from US President Lincoln to advance on Richmond. The news of the Battle of Hampton Roads had reached Washington on the afternoon of March, 11 and was meet with great despair. President Lincoln ordered that barges be sunk along the Potomac River in order to prevent the Virginia from traveling up the River and wreaking havoc in Washington.
In early 1862, the Confederates on the move in the states and territories west of the Mississippi River. In Missouri, the Confederates, led by Major General Sterling Price, had scores a crucial victory in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in late 1861 but by 1862 they had lost all of their gains because of the arrival of Union reinforcements in February 1862. while in the Arizona/New Mexico territory, the Confederate 4th, 5th, and 7th Texas Cavalry Regiments under the command of Charles L. Pyron and William L. Scurry had driven deep into the territory and had even proclaimed the Confederate territory of Arizona in 1861. By early 1862, they had captured Santa Fe and were about to move into the Colorado territory. The Confederate states of Texas and Louisiana were so far, relatively intact and the unorganized Indian territory which had allied itself with the Confederacy had only seen a few minor skirmishes and all of them were Confederate victories.
Following the Union’s expulsion of Confederate forces and their Indian allies from Missouri in late 1861. the Union’s next objective was to pursue the Confederates into Arkansas. This task fell to the Army of the Southwest led by Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis. In early 1862, Curtis moved his 10,000 Army of the Southwest along with 50 artillery pieces into Arkansas via a small stream called Sugar Creek. Eventually, Curtis found a very favorable defensive position on the north side of the creek and began to fortify it for an expected Confederate assault coming form the south. As for the Confederates, they were eager to crush Curtis’s troops and reopen the rout into Missouri. The Confederate Army of the West which numbered about 16,000 men was led by Major General Earl Van Dorn and began to march north towards the Union troops at Sugar Creek. Upon realizing that Curtis had entrenched his troops, General Van Dorn chose to flank them rather than attack the fortified positions head on. He then split his army in two and had them march north in order to outflank General Curtis On March 7, 1862 the two armies met. The Confederates were tired but had the advantage of surprise as well as superior numbers. Curtis was caught off and had to turn his entire army around in order to fight the Confederates. Curtis was forced to retreat and abandon his position as well as his artillery. The Confederates then began to chase them all the way into Missouri and the Threat to Arkansas and much of the Indian territory was over.
In the Arizona/New Mexico territory it was the Confederates who had the upper hand as 1862 began and had already seized the city of Santa Fe while the people of the southern half of the territory had seceded from the Union and proclaimed themselves as the Confederate territory of Arizona. The push through Arizona soon accumulated into the battle of Glorieta Pass on March 26-28, 1862 when the Northern Division the Department of New Mexico faced of with members of the 4th, 5th, and 7th Texas Cavalry Regiments. This battle although small, would be crucial in control of the region. On March 26, 1862 the two small forces clashed near Glorieta Pass, New Mexico. As the fighting dragged on, the Confederates gained the upper hand and at about mid day, the Confederates had outflanked the Union's right and Confederate sharpshooters managed to find a ridge near the Union’s artillery positions and were picking off artillery men below them. The next day, Union scouts attempted to cut off General Scurry’s supplies but to no avail. The Union forces were routed and fled all the way back into the Colorado territory. Scurry wanted to pursue them, but he realized that that would stretch his supply lines dangerously thin. Instead he ordered his troops to advance southwest toward Tucson.
Although not as large as the gigantic battles that took place in Virginia and Maryland, the Western theater of the American Civil War still had it’s fair share of bloody battles. In early 1862, the Union captured New Madrid Island Number 10 and Fort Donelson From the Confederates. Island Number 10 was situated in the middle of the Mississippi River was the northern most Confederate fortress on the river. It’s capture was a major blow to the Confederacy. Now the Union could advance as far south as Memphis without encountering any real resistance. The fall of Fort Donelson was just as bad. The Road to Nashville was now wide open. Following the capture of Fort Donelson the Union’s Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio led by Ulysses S. Grant and Don Carlos Buell began to move south via the Tennessee River and on the night of April 4, 1862 the Army of the Tennessee made camp at a little known spot next to the Tennessee River called Pittsburg Landing. There Grant would wait for the Army of the Ohio coming from Nashville and then continue their advance on to Memphis. Grant did not believe that the Confederates would attempt any offensive because they had suffered many casualties in defense of Tennessee and were on the run. As a result he sent out few scouts and was completely oblivious to the massive buildup of the Confederate Army of Mississippi led by General’s Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard. At 6:00 AM on April 6, 1862 the bloodiest battle in the American Civil War began. Suddenly the 44,700 strong Army of Mississippi attacked the unprepared and surprised Union troops. The battle soon became extremely confusing as Union units broke apart and Confederate units entangled with each other. By 7:30the Union troops were forced to retreat after holding out fore and hour and a half. By the afternoon, the Union retreat had stopped and they had finally slowed the Confederate advance. Grant’s army had suffered heavy casualties and his men were being pushed backward into the Tennessee River. He sent out a message to Don Carlos Buell, commander of the Army of the Ohio and told him that reinforcements were desperately needed. Buell’s troops however would take the rest of the day to arrive though. As night fell the Confederates were joyful and expected to finish off Grant’s men the next day. On the Union’s side however the moral was low. However, Grant had a reason to be optimistic. Buell’s troops were expected to arrive the next morning and relieve Grant’s weary men. It was not to be however, late that night a huge Rainstorm had arrived over the surrounding area covering the terrain in several inches of thick mud making travel hard if not impossible . Buell’s troops were going nowhere. The Rain continued into the next morning and when the Confederates launched another offensive at 7:00 that morning, Grant’s troops fled. Some managed to cross the Tennessee River in the barges but most were driven away from the landing area by confederate artillery and men assaulting the area. Out of 48,900 troops the Army of the Tennessee had about 10,000 killed or missing, 8,500 wounded and about another 15,000 captured. The Confederates had 10,000 killed or wounded and 900 captured out of 44,700. in the end, the Army of the Ohio had to retreat back into Kentucky in order to defend the state from invasion. The Army of the Ohio on the other hand had been effectively crushed. Grant would rebuild his reputation but from that point on. The Union was on the defensive in the Western Theater and the threat to Memphis, which just a few days before seemed as if it would fall, was over.
I have a lot more to post but what do you all think?
If there are any obvious errors or mistakes or if you would just like to help me out with this TL, go adeah and tell me. Thanks! Oh and I have no clue how to post images. I have a lot for this TL but untill I can figure it out, no maps.....
Part I: 1862-1880
Chapter I: The Conclusion of the American Civil War
Chapter I: The Conclusion of the American Civil War
The Sinking of the USS Monitor
March 6, 1862: A perfect day for the first voyage of the USS Monitor. The ship that would soon battle the CSS Virginia and save the wooden Union blockade ships in Hampton Roads Virginia. While the iron “cheese box” was steaming out of New York Harbor a huge crowd was gathering on the shorelines to see the magnificent vessel for themselves. This day was to be a historic day for the United States of America and the world. The age of wooden ships was over and the age of the ironclad had begun. Little did that crowd that was of the shores of the harbor that quiet day that they would be the last people to see the ship floating ever again. The journey to Hampton Roads would take about two days for the Monitor and the ship would have to hug the coastline for the entire trip because the ship was not designed to travel in deep water. By the afternoon of March 7, the Monitor had reached the mouth of the Delaware River and everything was going according to plan when disaster struck.. During the night before, a huge storm system had moved over the North Atlantic and by the 7th, had begun to release it’s furry. The waves began getting rockier and eventually, the crew lost control of the ship. The Monitor was heading out to sea and would certainly be pushed beneath the waves. As a result, the captain of the Monitor, John L. Worden was forced to abandon ship. By the time that the crew was picked up by a fleet of fishing boats, the USS Monitor was as the bottom of the sea. The only hope of defeating the Confederate Virginia was gone.
The Battle of Hampton Roads
The news of the Monitor’s demise spread fast and all through the Union had attempted to suppress the news, Confederate spies in the north got a hold of it and reported it to Richmond. A window of opportunity to suppress the Union’s blockade was wide open and in the early hours of March 8, the CSS Virginia took advantage of it. The five Union ships that were guarding the harbor that morning were the USS Roanoke, Minnesota, Congress, Saint-Lawrence and the Cumberland. The Virginia’s first victim of the day was the 24-cannon Cumberland. The Cumberland and the Congress had begun opening fire on the Virginia, but the cannonballs just bounces right off of her, the Virginia however, did not return fire, instead she smashed into the Cumberland below the waterline the ship sank quickly. Following the destruction of the Cumberland, The Virginia, turned it’s attention to the USS Congress. Seeing what had happened to the Cumberland a few minutes before though, the captain of the Congress, Lieutenant Joseph B. Smith ordered that his ship be run aground in order to prevent the Virginia from ramming it. This decision actually backfired when the James River Squadron joined the Virginia in the assault on the Congress. Because it was stuck on a sandbar, and could not escape, the Congress was forced to surrender after an hour of fighting. Following the surrender of the Congress, the James River Squadron began to focus on the USS Minnesota and had forced her aground like the Congress and following the surrender of the Congress's crew, the Virginia rejoined the fight. The falling tide however, made her unable to be of any use so the Virginia and the James River Squadron steamed back to Confederate held waters for the night and to undergo temporary repairs.
As the next day came, the Virginia as well as three new ships from the James River Squadron moved in to finish off the remaining Union fleet. The Minnesota however, had not received news of the Monitor’s fate and still believed that the ironclad would come to it’s rescue. It soon realized that no help was to be forthcoming other than for the obsolete Roanoke and Saint-Lawrence. The Virginia left the Minnesota to the James River Squadron and turned her attention to the Roanoke and Saint-Lawrence. The Virginia steamed towards the Roanoke as the ship launched desperate salvos in a last ditch effort to halt the Virginia’s charge. However, like the Cumberland, the Virginia succeeded in striking the Roanoke and within ten minutes, the was listing. Meanwhile, the Minnesota had finally realized that she was doomed and surrendered to the James River Squadron. that left just the Saint-Lawrence but the Virginia would never fight her because the Saint-Lawrence was fleeing Hampton Roads for the safety of Union controlled waters. The battle of Hampton Roads would prove to be a major victory for the Confederacy. The Virginia had only 20 wounded men while the Union had lost four frigates as well as control of the Hampton Roads region.
Immediate aftermath of the Battle of Hampton Roads
The News of the Confederate Victory over the Union fleet in Hampton Roads spread like Wildfire in both the Confederacy and the Union. In Richmond A public holiday was declared and would later be know as “Navy Day” Realizing that ships like the CSS Virginia could be a war winner, the Confederate President, Jefferson Davis ordered that several new ironclads be build in Charleston, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Wilmington, Memphis and Mobile. The CSS Virginia herself now began concentration on the Union held positions in and around the Hampton Roads area. This campaign would seriously threaten General George McClellan campaign on the Virginia Peninsula and following the defeat at Hampton Roads, the U.S. Navy informed McClellan that they could no longer insure operations on the York of the James River. McClellan hesitated to advance, but was forced to because of calls from US President Lincoln to advance on Richmond. The news of the Battle of Hampton Roads had reached Washington on the afternoon of March, 11 and was meet with great despair. President Lincoln ordered that barges be sunk along the Potomac River in order to prevent the Virginia from traveling up the River and wreaking havoc in Washington.
The war west of the Mississippi River
In early 1862, the Confederates on the move in the states and territories west of the Mississippi River. In Missouri, the Confederates, led by Major General Sterling Price, had scores a crucial victory in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in late 1861 but by 1862 they had lost all of their gains because of the arrival of Union reinforcements in February 1862. while in the Arizona/New Mexico territory, the Confederate 4th, 5th, and 7th Texas Cavalry Regiments under the command of Charles L. Pyron and William L. Scurry had driven deep into the territory and had even proclaimed the Confederate territory of Arizona in 1861. By early 1862, they had captured Santa Fe and were about to move into the Colorado territory. The Confederate states of Texas and Louisiana were so far, relatively intact and the unorganized Indian territory which had allied itself with the Confederacy had only seen a few minor skirmishes and all of them were Confederate victories.
Following the Union’s expulsion of Confederate forces and their Indian allies from Missouri in late 1861. the Union’s next objective was to pursue the Confederates into Arkansas. This task fell to the Army of the Southwest led by Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis. In early 1862, Curtis moved his 10,000 Army of the Southwest along with 50 artillery pieces into Arkansas via a small stream called Sugar Creek. Eventually, Curtis found a very favorable defensive position on the north side of the creek and began to fortify it for an expected Confederate assault coming form the south. As for the Confederates, they were eager to crush Curtis’s troops and reopen the rout into Missouri. The Confederate Army of the West which numbered about 16,000 men was led by Major General Earl Van Dorn and began to march north towards the Union troops at Sugar Creek. Upon realizing that Curtis had entrenched his troops, General Van Dorn chose to flank them rather than attack the fortified positions head on. He then split his army in two and had them march north in order to outflank General Curtis On March 7, 1862 the two armies met. The Confederates were tired but had the advantage of surprise as well as superior numbers. Curtis was caught off and had to turn his entire army around in order to fight the Confederates. Curtis was forced to retreat and abandon his position as well as his artillery. The Confederates then began to chase them all the way into Missouri and the Threat to Arkansas and much of the Indian territory was over.
In the Arizona/New Mexico territory it was the Confederates who had the upper hand as 1862 began and had already seized the city of Santa Fe while the people of the southern half of the territory had seceded from the Union and proclaimed themselves as the Confederate territory of Arizona. The push through Arizona soon accumulated into the battle of Glorieta Pass on March 26-28, 1862 when the Northern Division the Department of New Mexico faced of with members of the 4th, 5th, and 7th Texas Cavalry Regiments. This battle although small, would be crucial in control of the region. On March 26, 1862 the two small forces clashed near Glorieta Pass, New Mexico. As the fighting dragged on, the Confederates gained the upper hand and at about mid day, the Confederates had outflanked the Union's right and Confederate sharpshooters managed to find a ridge near the Union’s artillery positions and were picking off artillery men below them. The next day, Union scouts attempted to cut off General Scurry’s supplies but to no avail. The Union forces were routed and fled all the way back into the Colorado territory. Scurry wanted to pursue them, but he realized that that would stretch his supply lines dangerously thin. Instead he ordered his troops to advance southwest toward Tucson.
The Western Theater
Although not as large as the gigantic battles that took place in Virginia and Maryland, the Western theater of the American Civil War still had it’s fair share of bloody battles. In early 1862, the Union captured New Madrid Island Number 10 and Fort Donelson From the Confederates. Island Number 10 was situated in the middle of the Mississippi River was the northern most Confederate fortress on the river. It’s capture was a major blow to the Confederacy. Now the Union could advance as far south as Memphis without encountering any real resistance. The fall of Fort Donelson was just as bad. The Road to Nashville was now wide open. Following the capture of Fort Donelson the Union’s Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio led by Ulysses S. Grant and Don Carlos Buell began to move south via the Tennessee River and on the night of April 4, 1862 the Army of the Tennessee made camp at a little known spot next to the Tennessee River called Pittsburg Landing. There Grant would wait for the Army of the Ohio coming from Nashville and then continue their advance on to Memphis. Grant did not believe that the Confederates would attempt any offensive because they had suffered many casualties in defense of Tennessee and were on the run. As a result he sent out few scouts and was completely oblivious to the massive buildup of the Confederate Army of Mississippi led by General’s Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard. At 6:00 AM on April 6, 1862 the bloodiest battle in the American Civil War began. Suddenly the 44,700 strong Army of Mississippi attacked the unprepared and surprised Union troops. The battle soon became extremely confusing as Union units broke apart and Confederate units entangled with each other. By 7:30the Union troops were forced to retreat after holding out fore and hour and a half. By the afternoon, the Union retreat had stopped and they had finally slowed the Confederate advance. Grant’s army had suffered heavy casualties and his men were being pushed backward into the Tennessee River. He sent out a message to Don Carlos Buell, commander of the Army of the Ohio and told him that reinforcements were desperately needed. Buell’s troops however would take the rest of the day to arrive though. As night fell the Confederates were joyful and expected to finish off Grant’s men the next day. On the Union’s side however the moral was low. However, Grant had a reason to be optimistic. Buell’s troops were expected to arrive the next morning and relieve Grant’s weary men. It was not to be however, late that night a huge Rainstorm had arrived over the surrounding area covering the terrain in several inches of thick mud making travel hard if not impossible . Buell’s troops were going nowhere. The Rain continued into the next morning and when the Confederates launched another offensive at 7:00 that morning, Grant’s troops fled. Some managed to cross the Tennessee River in the barges but most were driven away from the landing area by confederate artillery and men assaulting the area. Out of 48,900 troops the Army of the Tennessee had about 10,000 killed or missing, 8,500 wounded and about another 15,000 captured. The Confederates had 10,000 killed or wounded and 900 captured out of 44,700. in the end, the Army of the Ohio had to retreat back into Kentucky in order to defend the state from invasion. The Army of the Ohio on the other hand had been effectively crushed. Grant would rebuild his reputation but from that point on. The Union was on the defensive in the Western Theater and the threat to Memphis, which just a few days before seemed as if it would fall, was over.
I have a lot more to post but what do you all think?
