Counter-Thrust: From the Peninsula to the Antietam
A window into the Union's internal conflict at building a military leadership team. Lincoln's administration in disarray, with relations between the president and field commander McClellan strained to the breaking point. Shows how the fortunes of war shifted abruptly in the Union's favor, climaxing at Antietam.

Oak Grove
French's Field, King's School House
First Seven Days Battle
Civil War Virginia

American Civil War
June 25, 1862

Peninsula Campaign Map


Extraordinary Circumstances: The Seven Days Battles
One of the most decisive military campaigns in Western history, the Seven Days were fought in the area southeast of the Confederate capitol of Richmond from June 25 to July 1, 1862

Oak Grove was the first of the Seven Days' battles.

On June 25, Major General George B. McClellan advanced his lines along the Williamsburg Road with the objective of  bringing Richmond within range of his siege guns.

Union forces attacked over swampy ground with inconclusive results, and darkness halted the fighting.

McClellan's attack was not strong enough to derail the Confederate offensive that already had been set in motion.

The next day, Lee seized the initiative by attacking at Beaver Dam Creek north of the Chickahominy.

Result(s): Inconclusive (Union forces withdrew to their lines.)

Location: Henrico County

Campaign: Peninsular Campaign (March-September 1862) next battle in campaign   previous battle in campaign

Date(s): June 25, 1862

Principal Commanders: Major General George B. McClellan [US]; General Robert E. Lee [CS]

Forces Engaged: Corps

Estimated Casualties: 1,057 total (US 516; CS 541)


To The Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign
For three months General McClellan battled his way toward Richmond, but then CSA General Lee took command of the Confederate forces. In seven days, Lee drove the cautious McClellan out, thereby changing the course of the war

George B. Mcclellan: The Young Napoleon
By age 35, General George B. McClellan (1826–1885), designated the "Young Napoleon," was the commander of all the Northern armies. He forged the Army of the Potomac into a formidable battlefield foe, and fought the longest and largest campaign of the time as well as the single bloodiest battle in the nation's history 		Virginia State Battle Map 1862
State Battle Maps
Civil War Submarines
Confederate Johhny Cake Recipes
Civil War Picture Album
Civil War Summary
Kids Zone Gettysburg
Kids Zone Underground Railroad
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Timeline
Women in the War
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Civil War Battles
Campaign Peninsula
The HPS Windows games are the best games available for both the gamer and historian. Each game covers one campaign or area, providing a series of historical and hypothetical battles. The battles are played as single games or linked into a campaign with losses and advantages carried forward. In campaign mode, players have to consider "tomorrow" and cannot just attack everything in sight
American Civil War Book Titles

The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
1988 Pulitzer Prize for History and a New York Times Bestseller. Rare contemporary photographs, period cartoons, etchings, woodcuts, and paintings, carefully choosing those that best illuminate the narrative
The Civil War Papers Of George B. Mcclellan: Selected Correspondence, 1860-1865
General-in-chief of the entire Union army at one point, he led the Army of the Potomac through the disaster at Antietam Creek, was subsequently dismissed by Lincoln, and then ran against him in the 1864 presidential campaign. This collection of McClellan's candid letters about himself, his motivations, and his intentions
George B. McClellan and Civil War History: In the Shadow of Grant and Sherman
The complex general who, though gifted with administrative and organizational skills, was unable and unwilling to fight with the splendid army he had created. In this book, Rowland presents a framework in which early Civil War command can be viewed without direct comparison to the final two years of the war
Lee's Miserables: Life in the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Appomattox
The words of the soldiers themselves provide a view of the army's experiences in camp, on the march, in combat, and under siege—from the battles in the Wilderness to the final retreat to Appomattox. It sheds new light on such questions as the state of morale in the army, the causes of desertion, ties between the army and the home front

Robert E. Lee
This book not only offers concise detail but also gives terrific insight into the state of the Union and Confederacy during Lee's life. Lee was truly a one of kind gentleman and American, and had Virginia not been in the south or neutral, he ultimately would have led the Union forces.
Echoes of Thunder: A Guide to the Seven Days Battles
This is a valuable and welcome addition to this series of battlefield guides. This book will provide you with a guide on the field or it will supplement reading about the American Civil War battle of The Seven Days.
A Girl's Life in Virginia Before the War
First published in 1895. An engrossing eyewitness account of antebellum plantation life as it really was
Record of the Actual Experiences of the Wife of a Confederate Officer
The author tells of her many travels across the war-torn South, capture behind enemy lines, encounter with Belle Boyd, friendship with General J. E. B. Stuart, and the devastation suffered by the citizens of Richmond in the last days of the Confederacy.

Civil War Video Games

Civil War Battles
Campaign Corinth
The Mississippi front of the vast Confederate offensive in the Fall of 1862 that culminated in the Battle of Corinth. Defending Federal gains in Mississippi and West Tennessee are Federal Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William S. Rosecrans. Their opponents, Confederate Generals Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price, have dreams of planting their banners on the banks of the Ohio River

Civil War Battles
Campaign Atlanta
You decide the outcome of a duel between two determined generals in the American Civil War. It's 1864 and the Union forces are ready to make a final drive into the Deep South. General William T. Sherman advances to destroy the Confederate Army of Tennessee & capture the city of Atlanta. Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston planned on using Georgia's difficult terrain to inflict heavy losses

Campaign Chickamauga
Civil War Battles
A defining moment in the Civil War -- one that could have spelled victory for the South if things had been slightly different. At Chickamauga Creek near Chattanooga, TN there was a battle that earned it a new nickname: "River Of Blood." Chattanooga was a vital rail station at the time and had fallen to Union General Rosecrans

Sid Meier's Civil War Collection
Take command of either Confederate or Union troops and command them to attack from the trees, rally around the general, or do any number of other realistic military actions. The AI reacts to your commands as if it was a real Civil War general, and offers infinite replayability. The random-scenario generator provides endless variations on the battles

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

Check out American Civil War visitors top DVD picks

Gettysburg / Gods and Generals
The tide of the war changes during three fierce days of combat at Gettysburg [Disc 1] the gripping saga of the tactics command errors and sacrifices behind the bloodiest battle ever fought on U.S. soil. Gods and Generals [Disc 2] reveals the spirited allegiances and fierce combat of earlier Civil War struggles
The Civil War in Virginia
Virginia was the arena where North and South fought many of their bloodiest battles. the program gives a full account of the events that took place describing in detail the history of the American Civil War in Virginia
Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor
Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.


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