Background

The Peninsula Campaign was fought during the spring and summer of 1862, in an attempt by Union general-in-chief George B. McClellan to capture the Confederate capital in Richmond from the southeast during the American Civil War. Pressured by the first republican United States president Abraham Lincoln to apply offense, Union forces had been neutral since the previous July. McClellan led  his Army of Potomac down the Chesapeake Bay, landed it at Fort Monroe, and marched it up the Peninsula between the James and York rivers. (Brinkley, 360) He was confronted at Yorktown by Confederates who were under John B. Magruder, who convinced McClellan that the Confederate forces were stronger than they actually were. As a result, on April 5 McClellan began a siege rather than attacking. This provided time for Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Northern Virginia to arrive. The Union and Confederate forces next fought each other at Williamsburg on May 5. Then Johnston took advantage of the fact that McClellan's army was caught on both sides of a almost flooded Chickahominy River, attacking him at the Battle of Seven Pines-Fair Oaks on May 31. Johnston was wounded in the two-day battle, and Robert E. Lee took command of Confederate forces, attacking McClellan three weeks later and, in the Seven Days' Campaign, driving him off the Peninsula and saving Richmond. (Catton,113)

 

Seven Days' Battle

Fighting paused for several weeks as McClellan, hoping to annoy Richmond, attempted to move his big guns closer to the city. Lee, meanwhile, began to an offensive plan, convinced that any change in the Confederate capital would be disastrous. He ordered Stonewall Jackson's troops east from the Shenandoah Valley—where they had successfully prevented Union troops  from reinforcing McClellan.They also sent cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart on a long trip around the Army of the Potomac to gather intelligence. (Brinkley, 360) On June 25 McClellan advanced on Oak Grove south of the Chickahominy. However, the next day Lee attacked north of the Chickahominy near Mechanicsville. Union general Fitz-John Porter repulsed his assaults, and although Jackson's men arrived on the Union flank, it was too late that day to affect the battle's outcome. Still, McClellan saw Jackson's presence as proof that his entire right flank was turned, and he ordered Porter back to a position near Gaines's Mill. Lee and Jackson finally forced Porter to retreat after a gruesome struggle there on June 27. That night McClellan abandoned his supply line and began to move south and east to the James. On June 29 Magruder forced a rearguard action at Savages's Station. On June 30, Lee had a chance to cut off half the Union army from its retreat route. For many reasons, including Jackson's failure to keep Union reinforcements away from the field, Lee's attack at Glendale failed to accomplish its objective despite a temporary breakthrough. On July 1 McClellan's army reunited on Malvern Hill overlooking the James. Lee and James Longstreet saw that a successful artillery concentration might lead to a breakthrough. The artillery action failed, but through a combination of mistakes the Confederates attacked and suffered a serious defeat. That night McClellan retreated to Harrison's Landing. Lee eventually withdrew his army to move north and confront John Pope's Army of Virginia. The Union command brought McClellan's forces back to the Washington area to reinforce Pope in the middle of August, and the Peninsula Campaign came to a quiet end. (History.com)

 

Aftermath

The Peninsula Campaign had two primary outcomes. The first was that Lee replaced Johnston as Army of Northern Virginia commander. Confederate fortunes in the East changed dramatically, with Lee winning several battles and even despite the defeat keeping his army together for almost three years. It is almost impossible to know how Johnston would have done, but it is likely he would not have followed Lee's aggressive path. The second consequence was the failure of the Union army to capture Richmond. In the early part of the war tactics had "hardened the resolve of both." (Encyclopedia VA, Luebke)

 

Works Cited

Catton, Bruce, and Richard M. Ketchum. The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War. New York: American Heritage Pub.; Book Trade Distribution by Doubleday, 1960. Print.

Peninsula Campagin Map. Digital image. Thomas Legion. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://thomaslegion.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/peninsula-campaign-overview.jpg>.

"Peninsula Campaign." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/peninsula-campaign>.

Brinkley, Alan. Peninsula Campaign. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. 360. Print.