For those of you who can remember back to last may this is based off the book 'Tales of Glory' which I began to write and still plan on continuing once I hammer our the timeline featured here.
1861
- As the retreat signal sounds among union forces at the end of the battle of bull run (July 21, 1861), commander of the Confederate forces in the battle, Brig. Gen. Joseph Eggleston Johnston, rushes forward to get a closer look. As he does so he is fatally struck in the stomach by a stray bullet and dies soon after. P.G.T Beauregard takes command.
- Beauregard (unlike Johnston in OTL) orders the Confederate forces to push towards Washington, which lay only approximately 25 miles away. They arrive on July 23rd and easily take the virtually undefended city. Lincoln and the US government flee to Philadelphia where they temporarily set up the government.
- As Confederate troops march through Washington in victory, though, an unknown civilian throws a bomb into their ranks. In response the Confederates fire upon the crowd of civilian onlookers, causing dozens of casualties. The event is reported throughout the north as the 'Washington Massacre.' Lincoln uses the 'massacre' as a rallying call throughout the union and enlistment quickly increases along with public morale.
- In St. Louis the pro-north Wide Awakes seem to epitomize this rise of anti-south feeling with their 'rally' the night after the massacre. They march through the city burning Confederate flags and pro-south propaganda. In response several southern sympathizers fire on the group and soon St. Louis falls into a state of anarchy. When order if finally restored both pro-north and pro-south groups are banned. Harley Dodd, the mayor of nearby Carondelet, then makes national headlines by welcoming the Wide Awakes into his city and is praised by many newspapers as a 'hero of the union.'
- McClellan, under Scott's suggestion, gathers a large force in the north and begins a counter attack before the end of the month. Their plan is to begin in Pennsylvania then march south then east, with the goal of cutting of the confederate force in Washington from reinforcements. McClellan hoped that, by striking further south then expected, he could succeed in his plan. On August 5th, however, they are ambushed by Confederate forces outside of Stanardsville. The disorganized Union force collapses under the heavy pressure from the Confederates under Albert Sidney Johnston. The Union force orders a retreat while McClellan orders a rear guard into essentially a suicide mission to slow down the Confederates in order to minimize loses. The move is successful and the majority of McClellan's men make it back into Pennsylvania.
Map of Virginia with Stanardsville circled.
- Again the nationwide situation quickly takes a toll on the St. Louis area. On August 6th pro-south groups hold a rally in St. Louis, despite their technical illegality, and are attacked by several armed members of the Wide Awakes. In response nearly 200 southern sympathizers gather the morning of August 7th, planning to march on, and sack, Carondelet. Before they can make a move, however, union troops are sent in to break up the crowd, fighting soon breaks out and several dozen people are killed. The 'Battle of St. Louis' quickly becomes a rally point for pro-succession Missourians.
- In the east the war hits a temporary lull as both sides build up, waiting for the other to make the first move. The Confederates expect the Union to make the first move, considering their capital is under CSA control, and Lincoln believes the same thing is necessary. McClellan, who is essentially serving as the primary field commander in the Union effort, on the other hand, engages in many arguments with Lincoln. Finally, in late September, Winfield Scott, still technically the general-in-chief of Union forces, comes to Lincoln with a plan to retake Washington and offers his service as battlefield commander despite his old age.
- Scott's plan is to take advantage of the South's essentially non-existent navy. On October 14th he sets sail, along with 50,000 men and several warships, at first North. He then swings around well into the Atlantic before taking a beeline for the Potomac. As such he is not spotted until he is a day from the river. His troops then sail up the river before exiting their ships just south of Washington, effectively cutting it off from supplies. This begins the siege of Washington.
- Stonewall Jackson, a hero from the battle of bull run, was soon after put in charge, by President Davis, of some how holding Washington. Jackson quickly made the decision that direct aid was impossible. Instead he came up with a scheme to break the US siege by forcing them to focus elsewhere. He quickly gathered a force and on October 21st began marching, apparently towards Scott's force south of Washington. Then, on the 23rd, as he seemed only a few hours away from engaging them, Jackson's forces turned away from Scott's forces and suddenly north. They marched right past Washington into Maryland and then turned Northeast, clearly towards Philadelphia.
- Scott, in a panic, broke the siege on Washington and moved his troops, by boat, north to defend Philadelphia. As soon as he reached the temporary capital, however, he learned that Jackson's smaller force had turned off their advance back towards Virginia. They had essentially broken the siege without firing a shot.
- The remainder of the year passed without any additional offensives besides a few minor border wars. Both sides seemed to be priming their military minds for a way to break their opponent, or, in the case of the US, simply take back their capital.