Another Year Gone By
Following the near disastrous Peninsular Campaign General McClellan would be relieved of his command on June 9,1862. In his place President Lincoln named Major General Ambrose Burnside as the Army of the Potomac's new commander. General Burnside sought to move quickly with the Unions superior manpower to defeat the Army of Northern Virginia & take Richmond. On June 15 General Burnside & his army crossed the Potomac ready to fight. On June 21 the General Lee set out with Army of Northern Virginia to take on Burnide and the Army of the Potomac. A week later the two armies would meet each other at the sight of the wars first major battle beginning the Second Battle of Manassas.
The numbers of troops engaged in Second Manassas more than doubled that of the first battle with 71,000 Union & 56,000 Confederate troops participating. For two full days the Second Battle of Manassas raged. In the early morning of July 1 Burnside withdrew his army out of Virginia in defeat. The battle made nearly 30,000 casualties, most of them Union, & marked the end of major combat operations in the eastern theater for the remainder of the year. On August 15 the Army of the Potomac received yet another commander, Major General Joseph Hooker. The victories over the Union in the Peninsular Campaign, the Northern Virginia Campaign, and the Second Manassas Campaign brought a sense of national pride to the Confederacy & Lee began planning an invasion of the north. It was his, & the Confederate governments, hope & belief that a decisive victory over the Union on northern soil would finally force Washington to concede defeat and end this war before it became even bloodier.
Since Austria's pro-Allied stance during the Crimean War, relations had been shaky at best. In 1859 however Austria saw itself at war with two of these former allies, France and Sardinia. The war ended in the defeat of Austria and the loss of Lombardy to Sardinia, which would become the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Now at war with Britain and France once more Alexander II sent delegates to Vienna to meet with Franz Joseph in November. While Russia's navy was formidable it was no match for one, let alone both the Royal and French Navies, and its ships were primarily joining the Americans in attacking commerce. Alexander offered Joseph an alliance to defeat Britain and France and reinstate Austria's dominance in northern Italy. On December 2 Emperor Franz Joseph agreed with the Tsar to put aside past differences and entered an alliance with Russia with the agreement that they would enter the war within three months.
Following the near disastrous Peninsular Campaign General McClellan would be relieved of his command on June 9,1862. In his place President Lincoln named Major General Ambrose Burnside as the Army of the Potomac's new commander. General Burnside sought to move quickly with the Unions superior manpower to defeat the Army of Northern Virginia & take Richmond. On June 15 General Burnside & his army crossed the Potomac ready to fight. On June 21 the General Lee set out with Army of Northern Virginia to take on Burnide and the Army of the Potomac. A week later the two armies would meet each other at the sight of the wars first major battle beginning the Second Battle of Manassas.
The numbers of troops engaged in Second Manassas more than doubled that of the first battle with 71,000 Union & 56,000 Confederate troops participating. For two full days the Second Battle of Manassas raged. In the early morning of July 1 Burnside withdrew his army out of Virginia in defeat. The battle made nearly 30,000 casualties, most of them Union, & marked the end of major combat operations in the eastern theater for the remainder of the year. On August 15 the Army of the Potomac received yet another commander, Major General Joseph Hooker. The victories over the Union in the Peninsular Campaign, the Northern Virginia Campaign, and the Second Manassas Campaign brought a sense of national pride to the Confederacy & Lee began planning an invasion of the north. It was his, & the Confederate governments, hope & belief that a decisive victory over the Union on northern soil would finally force Washington to concede defeat and end this war before it became even bloodier.
Since Austria's pro-Allied stance during the Crimean War, relations had been shaky at best. In 1859 however Austria saw itself at war with two of these former allies, France and Sardinia. The war ended in the defeat of Austria and the loss of Lombardy to Sardinia, which would become the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Now at war with Britain and France once more Alexander II sent delegates to Vienna to meet with Franz Joseph in November. While Russia's navy was formidable it was no match for one, let alone both the Royal and French Navies, and its ships were primarily joining the Americans in attacking commerce. Alexander offered Joseph an alliance to defeat Britain and France and reinstate Austria's dominance in northern Italy. On December 2 Emperor Franz Joseph agreed with the Tsar to put aside past differences and entered an alliance with Russia with the agreement that they would enter the war within three months.