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Well, huh. There's been a slight break in my workload and I've managed to get another update finished!


Part Thirty-Four: Johnson's Revenge

Johnson's Revenge: Word of the Greeneville Massacre reached President Johnson on April 13th, 1863. Johnson was appalled that the Confederacy would allow such a devious action to take place, but quickly recovered from the shock. On the 22nd of April, Johnson decided that he would personally lead an offensive into Virginia to reciprocate the events at Greeneville. The constitutional authority on this matter had been ambiguous. However, as Washington had been in the battlefield while President and Madison had briefly commanded a naval battery during the Anglo-American War of 1812 [1], Johnson asserted his authority as commander-in-chief. For the next two months, Johnson studied military texts and maps to decide the best course of action against the Confederate forces in Virginia.

The threat of Longstreet's forces against Cincinnati launched President Johnson's plan into action. Johnson began the offensive on June 9th when he took over the Army of the Potomac from McClellan. Johnson led the Army of the Potomac ten miles west before they crossed the Potomac River. Leading the army south, Johnson led his first skirmish at the town of Ayrhill [2] north of Fairfax. Under Johnson's command with assistance from Brigadier General Ambrose Burnside, the Army of the Potomac quickly routed the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia with the aid of the field artillery following Napoleonic style tactics. The Army of the Potomac captured Fairfax on the 11th of June, and curved southwest along the Chesapeake and Ohio railway. Johnson also did his best to ensure a constant telegraph link with Washington during the campaign so he could be updated as soon as possible on any movements or information regarding the Confederate positions.

Johnson advanced the Army of the Potomac south to Fredericksburg and took the city easily. The Army of Northern Virginia, now led by George S. Pickett, continued its retreat toward Richmond, and Johnson continued in pursuit after Pickett. After another rout of the Army of Northern Virginia at Spotsylvania on the 20th of June, Johnson stalled his offensive to wait for word from McClellan about the readiness of his forces on the Virginia Peninsula. Johnson planned an offensive by both his and McClellan's forces toward Richmond, mimicking the Confederate attack on Knoxville. On July 4th, 1863, McClellan began a push up the Virginia Peninsula. Johnson knew that the peninsula was well defended and so allowed for a delay between McClellan's advance and the beginning of the Army of the Potomac's move south.

Once again, however, McClellan's advance was stopped at Williamsburg and McClellan did not move further for the next two weeks. Despite this, Johnson decided to go ahead with his advance on the 16th of July, and found Pickett and the Army of Northern Virginia at a dip in the South Anna River two miles north of Ashland. By positioning the Confederate force with their backs to the river, Pickett ensured that the Army of Northern Virginia would not simply retreat yet again. Three days into the battle, it appeared that the Army of Northern Virginia was going to retreat and that Richmond would soon be captured. But by a pure coincidence, Forrest's cavalry corps arrived from the west in the early afternoon of July 19th. Forrest pinned a quarter of the Union forces between his cavalry and the main Confederate army, and the Army of the Potomac were routed later that evening. Johnson gave control over the Army of the Potomac to Burnside as the army left for Fredericksburg, and President Johnson returned to Washington. While Richmond was not captured during the offensive, much ground was gained in Virginia and the campaign was an overall success for the Union.

[1] The only source I could find for Madison was Wiki, but it seems good enough. And I figured the name of the War of 1812 would be changed since there have been multiple wars between the US and Britain.
[2] OTL Vienna, VA. As an example of how influential minor events are, in OTL Ayrhill only changed its name to Vienna to get a doctor to move there.