were slain and over 500 taken prisoners. Ten days later Commodore S. F. Dupont, aided by General T. W. Sherman with 10,000 men, reduced the Confederate forts on Hilton Head and Phillips' Island and seized the adjacent Sea Islands. General Fremont, unable to find and engage the Confederate General Price in the West, was relieved of his command of 30,000 men; but General U. S. Grant, by capturing the Confederate camp at Belmont, Mo., checked the advance of General Jeff. Thompson. On the next day, November th, occurred a memorable event which imperiled the peaceful relations between

the United States and Great Britain. Captain Wilkes of the United States frigate, "San Jacinto," compelled the British mail steamer, "Trent," to give up two of her passengers, the Confederate Commissioners, Mason and Slidell, who were on their way respectively to England and France in the interest of the South. A foreign war might have resulted had not Mr. William H. Seward, the astute Secretary of State, promptly disavowed the act and returned the Commissioners to English keeping. General E. O. C. Ord, commanding the Third Pennsylvania Brigade, gained a victory on December 20th at Dranesville over the Confederate

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brigade of General J. E. B. Stuart, who lost 230 soldiers, and during the same month General Pope reported the capture of 2500 prisoners in Central Missouri, with the loss of only 100 men; but 1000 of these were taken by Colonel Jeff. C. Davis by surprising the Confederate camp at Milford.

The year 1862 was marked by a series of bloody encounters. It opened with a Union army of 450,000 against a Confederate army of 350,000. The fighting began at Mill Spring, in Southern Kentucky, on January 19th, with an assault by the Confederates led by General F. K. Zollicoffer, acting under General G. B. Crittenden. They were routed by General George H. Thomas, Zollicoffer being killed and Crittenden flying across the Cumberland River, leaving ten guns and 1500 horses. This victory stirred the heart of the nation, and brought at once into brilliant prominence the great soldier and noble character whose greatnes blazed out like a sun at the close of the war. Another blow was soon struck. soon struck. Brigadier General Grant, with 15,000 troops, supported by Commodore A. H. Foote with seven gunboats, reduced Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and took its commander, General L. Tilghman, prisoner, but could not prevent the greater portion of the garrison from escaping to Fort Donelson, twelve miles to the east. This stronghold, commanding the navigation of the Cumberland River and containing 15,000 defenders under General J. B. Floyd, was regarded as impregnable. It fell, however, on February 16th, under a combined attack of Grant and Foote, surrendering 12,000 men and 40 cannon. Generals Floyd and Buckner, with a few of their command, managed to escape across the river by night, and General N. B. Forrest, with 800 cavalry, also got away. This splendid achievement threw Nashville and all Northern Tennessee into possession of the Unionists, and caused the immediate evacuation of the Confederate camp at Bowling Green, Kentucky.

In the East, about the same time, General Burnside and Commodore Goldsborough, with 11,500 men on 31 steamboats, captured, with a loss of 300, Roanoke Island, N. C., and 2500 Confederates. On March 14th they carried New Bern by assault, losing 600 but taking 2 steamboats, 69 cannon, and 500 prisoners; and next they seized Fort Macon, with its garrison of 500 and stores. But the Unionist Generals Reno and Foster were repulsed, respectively, at South Mills and Goldsborough. One of the most notable of naval engagements took place on March 8th and 9th, when the Confederate ironclad, "Virginia," known better by her original name, the "Merrimac," steamed out from Norfolk attended by two gunboats. She plunged her iron ram into the Union frigate, "Cumberland," causing her to sink and to carry down part of her crew; she blew up the "Congress," another Union frigate, destroying more than half of her crew of 434, drove the frigate "Lawrence" under the guns of Fortress Monroe, and bombarded until dusk with terrific energy, aided also by her gunboats, the

Union steam frigate "Minnesota," "Minnesota," which had got aground. She seemed destined on the next day to work immeasurable and unimpeded havoc. But, providentially, during the night the Union "Monitor," looking like “a cheese box on a raft," which had been built by Captain Ericsson and was commanded with consummate skill by Lieutenant J. L. Worden, steamed into the roadstead on her trial trip from New York. When, therefore, the "Merrimac " approached for new conquests the following morning her surprise was tremendous upon meeting such a strange craft. An unwonted and dramatic naval duel now

occurred, from which the Confederate ram retired badly crippled and was soon afterward blown up to prevent her being captured. The "Monitor" unfortunately, lost some months afterward, in a storm off Hatteras.

The smoke had not vanished from Hampton Roads before news came of an assault at Pea Ridge by from 16,000 to 18,000 Confederates, including 5000 Indians, under General E. Van Dorn, on 10,500 Unionists under General S. R. Curtis, supported by Generals Asboth and Sigel. After three days of severe fighting, in which 1351 Unionists fell, the Confederates fled with precipitation,

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leaving Generals B. McCulloch and McIntosh dead and having Generals Price and Slack among their wounded.

General McClellan having raised his 200,000 or more men to a high degree of efficiency, transferred considerably more than half of them to Fortress Monroe for the purpose of advancing on Richmond by way of the peninsula between the York and James Rivers. He left General Banks with 7000 soldiers to guard the Virginia Valley. This force, at that time under the command of General James Shields, because Banks had gone temporarily to Washington, was fiercely assailed at Kernstown by "Stonewall" Jackson at the head of 4000 men. Jackson was repulsed with a loss of 1000, whilst Shields lost 600. McClellan's advance was checked for a month by Confederate batteries at Warwick Creek and again at Williamsburg by General Magruder's works. Here General Hooker's division fought well for nine hours with heavy losses. Magruder, flanked by Hancock, whose two brigades fought bravely, was obliged to retreat, leaving 700 of his wounded. The Unionists lost altogether 2228, whilst the Confederates lost not quite so many.

In the meantime, on April 6th, General Grant, with an army of 40,000, was surprised at Pittsburg Landing by 50,000 Confederates under General A. S. Johnson. General Grant, instead of being with his troops, was on a boat near Savannah, seven miles below. The Union forces were completely surprised. No intrenchments or earthworks of any kind had been erected-there were no abattis. The Union forces, surprised, were rapidly driven back with heavy loss in guns, killed, wounded, and prisoners, from Shiloh Church to the bluffs of the Tennessee, under which thousands of demoralized men took refuge. General Albert S. Johnson had been killed in the midst of the battle and General Beauregard succeeded to the command. Had General Johnson been alive the result might have been different; but Beauregard was in command, and he missed the one opportunity of his life in resting on his arms when he should have pressed the enemy to the river and forced a surrender. But relief was at hand, and under a leader who was a master general on the field. Sunday night General Don Carlos Buell arrived on the scene with a part of the Army of the Ohio. Moving General Nelson's division across the Tennessee in boats, he had them in position by seven o'clock in the evening, ready for the onset in the morning. Two more divisions were crossed early in the morning. At seven o'clock the attack was begun, General Buell leading his troops in person and General Grant advancing with his troops, yesterday overwhelmed by defeat, to-day hopeful and confident. The result is well known. Buell's fresh troops, handled in a masterly manner, were irresistible. By four o'clock the enemy lost all they had gained and were in full retreat, and the day was won, General Buell receiving unstinted praise for his victory. The Union loss was 1735 killed, 7882 wounded, and 3956 missing; total, 13,573.

The Confederates' loss was 1728 killed, 8012 wounded, 957 missing; total, 10,699.

About the same date General Pope and Commodore Foote captured Island No. 10, with 6700 Confederates under Brigadier General Makall; and soon after Memphis surrendered to the Unionists, and on April 11th Fort Pulaski fell before a bombardment by General Q. A. Gilmore. This same month was notable for naval victories. Admiral Farragut with a fleet of forty-seven armed vessels and 310 guns stormed the Confederate Forts St. Philip and Jackson, destroyed various fire-rafts and gunboats, and after a series of brilliant actions compelled the Confederate General Lovell with 3000 defenders to withdraw from New Orleans, leaving it to be occupied by 15,000 Unionists under General Butler. In the words of another, this "was a contest between iron hearts in wooden vessels, and iron clads with iron beaks, and the iron hearts prevailed."

McClellan's army-a part of which had been thrown across the Chickahominy-was savagely attacked on May 28th, at Fair Oaks, by General Joseph E. Johnston, now Commander-in-chief of the Confederate forces. Although Johnston was badly wounded and his troops after a day of hard fighting were obliged to retire, yet the Union loss was 5739, including five colonels killed and seven generals wounded. McClellan was now reinforced until he had altogether 156,828 men, of whom 115,162 were in good condition for effective service. Nothing, however, was accomplished until General Lee, who had succeeded the disabled Johnston, forced the fighting on June 26th that led to six horrible battles on as many successive days, known as those of Oak Grove, Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mills, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, and Malvern Hill. In the last one the Confederates were signally defeated by McClellan with a loss of 10,000, while the Union loss was about 5000. During those six battles the Union loss was 1582 killed, 7709 wounded, and 5958 missing, making a total of 15,249. The Confederate loss was perhaps double; General Griffith and three colonels killed. Nevertheless, McClellan's campaign was unsuccessful; Richmond was not taken; and by order of the President he retreated to the Potomac.

General Halleck now became Commander-in-chief, and a vigorous campaign was opened by the Unionist General Pope. He was met in several stubbornly fought actions by the Confederates under Generals Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet, and was badly routed.* In this bloody affair, known as the second battle of Bull Run, the Unionists lost 25,000, including 9000 prisoners; the Con

*In accounting for his defeat General Pope attempted to fix the blame upon General Fitz John Porter, a very able and successful commander, charging that he failed to support him, and a courtmartial convened in the heat of the discussion cashiered the General. But later, in deference to public opinion, the case was reopened, the previous unjust verdict was set aside, and General Porter's good name was cleared, his conduct being fully justified-an acquittal in entire accord with the riper second thought of public opinion.