Maneuvers and battles in Virginia prior to the Battle of First Manassas were centered around control of major waterways. Virginia had three main waterways that defined its antebellum borders: the Ohio, Potomac, and Chesapeake rivers. Whoever controlled these rivers could rapidly transport troops and supplies and prevent the enemy from crossing over into friendly territory.…
Author: Michael Kleen
Michael Kleen is an author, raconteur, and occasional traveler. He has a M.A. in History and M.S. in Education. He enjoys studying military history, folklore, and philosophy.
Latest Engagements Added
Of the 27 separate engagements I'm tracking in Virginia prior to the Battle of First Manassas, I’ve completed stub pages for all but one. I found mention of a skirmish at Harper's Ferry when Union troops re-occupied the town after crossing the Potomac River, and two closely-related engagements near Newport News that took place in…
Illustration of William S. Rosecrans
William Starke Rosecrans (1819-1898) was born in Ohio and despite having no formal education, graduated from West Point in 1842. He did not fight in the Mexican War and went into business as president of the Preston Coal Oil Company. When the Civil War broke out, he became aide-de-camp to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan…
Illustration of Jacob D. Cox
Jacob Dolson Cox, Jr. (1828-1900) was something of a renaissance man. Born in Canada to American parents, Cox attended Oberlin College and later became a lawyer. He moved with his wife, Helen Clarissa Finney, to Ohio where he became a state senator. During the Civil War, he was a brigadier general and led the famed…
Six More Engagements Added
I'm now tracking 27 separate engagements in Virginia prior to the First Battle of Bull Run, and I've completed stub pages for all but four. Information is hard to come by for some of these and fully researching them will be difficult. The new pages are: Skirmish at New CreekSkirmish at Middle Fork BridgeSkirmish at…
Illustration of Thomas A. Morris
Brig. Gen. Thomas Armstrong Morris (1811–1904) was a civil engineer from Kentucky who led a brigade under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan during the Northwest Virginia Campaign. Morris graduated from West Point in 1834 and served as an artillery officer. When the Civil War broke out, he became quartermaster general of the Indiana state militia.…
Illustration of George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was born in Philadelphia and graduated from West Point in 1846. He fought in the Mexican War, and his father was close friends with Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott, who would become overall commander of U.S. forces at the outbreak of the Civil War. McClellan's services were highly sought after, but Ohio Governor…
Pages for Several Engagements Added
My goal this month is to at least publish a stub page for every Civil War engagement in Virginia prior to the First Battle of Bull Run. Each page will contain a short description and a map to where it was fought. I am tracking 20 separate engagements from May 7, 1861 to July 17,…
Battle of Blackburn’s Ford Page Added
The Battle of Blackburn’s Ford was fought on July 18, 1861 between Union forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler and Confederate forces commanded by Brig. Gen. James Longstreet in Prince William and Fairfax Counties, Virginia during the American Civil War. The battle, a prelude to First Manassas, was a Confederate victory and resulted in…
Illustration of Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett
For many years, photos of Robert S. Garnett were often mistaken for those of his more famous cousin, Richard Brooke Garnett (1817-1863), who was killed in Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. The existing images and illustrations (at least available online) leave something to be desired. Like many early-war Confederate officers who didn't go on to win fame, these images are grainy and low resolution.
Spirit of '61 