The governments of Europe, except the Russian, were unfriendly to us. Four more states soon seceded, making eleven out of the fifteen slave states. Thousands of troops were gathered for the defense of the National Capital.
In July a Confederate army of about thirty thousand threatened Washington. A battle was fought at Manassas, only thirty miles southwest of the city. At first the Union forces had the advantage and seemed victorious; but just then heavy reinforcements of fresh troops came to help the Confederates, drove back the weary forces, and the day ended in Union disaster.
[Illustration: MAP OF SEAT OF WAR IN VIRGINIA.]
This battle of Manassas, or Bull Run, was a severe and unexpected defeat. It showed the scope of the tremendous conflict yet to come. There was not much more heavy fighting during the remainder of that year; both sides were busily making enormous preparations for the future struggle.
=309. The Desperate Struggles of 1862.=--In the early part of the next year (1862) each side had ready in the field about half a million of men. In the East, General McClellan, with a large army, set out in April from Washington for Richmond. He advanced within seven miles of that city, where was fought the battle of Fair Oaks. Neither side was victorious. The desperate seven days' battles soon followed, with result still indecisive. This, the so-called Peninsular Campaign, failed of its purpose.
In September the Confederate General Lee marched north and, invading Maryland, fought the bloody battle of Antietam. He was slightly worsted, and forced to retire into Virginia.
In the West, General Grant, the coming man, with the help of Commodore Foote's fleet of gunboats, captured in February Forts Henry and Donelson with ten thousand prisoners. Soon followed the desperate battle of Shiloh, in which Grant, reinforced by General Buell, repulsed the Confederates.
In April a great navy and army sailed up the Mississippi River, bombarded the forts below New Orleans, then passed up and captured the city. This was an important Union triumph.
The year had been one of many hard-fought battles, only a few of which we are able to mention. The general result was in the East lamentable failure, but in the West brilliant success, of the Union armies.
