Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson



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Select your generals for the campaign from the following list of officers available at the time in the Eastern Theater of War. Make sure to study their strengths and weaknesses as one wrong choice could lead to disaster for our nation. Good luck!

George Meade

Meade graduated in the West Point class of 1835. Meade fought bravely in the Peninsula campaign and in the Seven Days Battles being very severely wounded at Glendale. He recovered in time to see action at 2nd Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Elevated to command of the Army of the Potomac, he defeated General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg and went on to fight in all of their battles culminating in the surrender at Appomattox Court House. Meade was not one to attack but was a very good defensive fighter. He moved his men in the right position and waited to be hit. His men called him an old goggle-eyed turtle. His lack of quickness on the attack led to him being replaced by U.S. Grant in 1864. He was tough when attacked!

Quickness in battle – 3

Defense in battle – 5

Attack in battle – 3

George McClellan

He graduated from the West Point class of 1864 and fought in the Mexican War. Hailed at the beginning of the Civil War as the “Young Napoleon,” he proved to be a brilliant military organizer, administrator, and trainer of men, but an officer totally lacking in the essential qualities of successful command of large forces in battle. He always found excuses why he couldn’t move his army. Lincoln once wrote him, “If you are not going to use the Army, would you allow me the chance to borrow it?” He saw action at Rich Mountain, W.V., in the 1862 Virginia Peninsular campaign and at the Battle of Antietam. Lincoln finally fired him because of his slow movement and excuses. He was defeated for president in 1864 by Abraham Lincoln.

Quickness in movement – 1

Defense in battle – 4

Attack in battle – 3

Ambrose Burnside

In the first battle of Bull Run he commanded a brigade at the beginning of the battle and succeeded to command after the original officer was wounded. He obtained his promotions due to his friendship with General George McClellan until he reached the Battle of Antietam. There, he spent all day trying to cross a small bridge with his men instead of walking across the creek. His delay allowed Robert E. Lee the chance to save his army. Burnside’s men suffered severe loss but the bridge today is named in his “honor.” For his actions, Gen. Burnside was promoted to command the Army of Potomac when McClellan was fired, in Nov. 1862. Burnside next planned the disaster known as the Battle of Fredericksburg in which the Union army’s assault failed and the army was forced to withdrawal with a loss of 12,000 men. Most soldiers called him a murderer for the poorly planned attack. He constantly acted without thinking about the details to

accomplish his goals. He was soon removed from command. Later, Burnside returned to duty and convinced the army to blow up a mine under Lee’s Army in Virginia and his men would run through the hole to victory. After the explosion his men rushed into the newly formed crater and could not get out. His troops were massacred! He was finally fired for good.

Quickness in movement – 2

Defense in battle – 1

Attack in battle – 3

General Irwin McDowell

The first commander of the Army of the Potomac, he was given command by Winfield Scott because of Scott’s inability to lead the troops himself. The large man moved his army slowly to Manassas Junction in 1861 where his army was chased from the battlefield in the Battle of Bull Run. Although his battle plan was solid, he failed to lead it and ensure its completion. When he returned to Washington, he was removed from command. Later, he was sent in to the Shenandoah Valley in 1862 to keep Stonewall Jackson busy. Stonewall Jackson destroyed his army again and he was finally fired for good. He was then allowed to return to his first love….eating.

Quickness in movement – 2

Defense in battle – 2

Attack in battle – 3

Winfield Hancock

He was one of the best generals in the United States Army. He was known as “Hancock the Superb” and “Hancock the Great.” General Hancock was known as a tough fighter and Southern troops knew when they met up with his men on the battlefield by their fighting ability and their black hats. As one Southern General commented, “Hancock is the best they got, they don’t make them any better.” Rarely was he ever defeated on the battlefield except at the Battle of the Wilderness where Confederate General James Longstreet beat him badly. Other than that one bad performance, he fought bravely at Second Bull Run and Fredericksburg. He held the center of the Union lines at Gettysburg on day three and defeated Robert E. Lee’s last attack. He later ran for President of the United States but lost. He is one of the forgotten great generals in American history.

Quickness in Movement – 4

Defense in Battle – 5

Attack in battle – 4

John C. Fremont

John Freemont was born in Savannah, Georgia, on January 21st, 1813. Educated at Charleston College, he taught mathematics before joining the Army in 1838. He was very smart and could read the land like no one who had ever lived in U.S. history. For instance, he joined a party that surveyed and mapped the region between the upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers in 1841 and mapped most of the Oregon Trail. He also climbed the second highest peak in the Wind River Mountains, afterwards known as Fremont Peak. As a general in the Civil War, he was very controversial and that hurt his career. In August of 1861, Freemont proclaimed without permission from the President that all slaves owned by Confederates in Missouri were free. Abraham Lincoln was furious when he heard the news as he feared that this action would force

slave owners in Border States to join the Confederate forces. With his brilliance at reading maps, he was quickly sent to the Shenandoah Valley to deal with Stonewall Jackson. He was too timid in

his movements and seemed in above his head as a commander of an army. Jackson not only destroyed Freemont’s army, but drove his men completely out of the Shenandoah Valley. His career as a general ended before it really got started.

Quickness in movement – 4

Defense in battle – 1

Attack in battle – 1

Joseph Hooker

He was known as “Fighting Joe Hooker” because he never saw a battle where he didn’t want to attack. General Hooker was a man who loved to fight, drink alcohol, and curse. Sometimes his desires were not in the same order. His hard-hitting attacks in battles like Second Bull Run and Antietam earned him the respect of his men and enemies. After being promoted to commander of the overall army in 1863, he devised a plan to swing his army around Robert E. Lee’s and attack him from behind. After moving his army quickly in the position to destroy Lee, he panicked and did nothing. Soon after in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Lee sent General Stonewall Jackson around Hooker and attacked Hooker from behind. As the Confederates stormed over his men, General Hooker was seen panicking and was hit on the head by a piece of wood from a house and knocked out. Later when asked why he didn’t attack Lee when he had the chance, Hooker stated,

“I guess I lost my faith in Joseph Hooker too.” He was soon after fired as commander and sent to Georgia under William Sherman. After silly arguments over promotions, he resigned from the Army under protest and his career ended.

Quickness in movement – 2

Defense in battle – 2

Attack in battle – 3

John Pope

General Pope was a known braggart, but still became commander of the Army of the Potomac in 1862. Due to his ego, he told newspapers much of what his plans were for the upcoming battle. He once said that his headquarters would never be in a tent. It would always be in the saddle. One newspaper reporter wrote, “He had his headquarters where his hindquarters should have been.” He once stated, “May God have mercy on General Lee for I will have none.” He quickly led his men to Manassas, Virginia where they were demolished by Robert E. Lee’s army in the Second Battle of Bull Run. Soon after, President Abraham Lincoln fired him.

Quickness of movement – 3

Defense in battle – 1

Attack in battle – 2

Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott is one of the most famous generals in American History. He commanded the U.S. forces in to Georgia in the 1830’s to remove the Cherokee Indians. Less than twenty years later he led the United States Army into Mexico in the War with Mexico. It was there that Scott became world famous by his brilliant attacks to capture the Mexican capital of Mexico City. He was a hero to many and many boys were later named after him including Winfield Scott Hancock. Although his massive weight gain proved too much for him to lead an army at the outset of the Civil War, Lincoln did use his overall strategy (The Anaconda Plan) to eventually win the war. One always wonders what would have happened if Scott could have rode a horse at the beginning of the Civil War. Unfortunately, his weight and poor health led to his death at the end of the Civil War.

Quickness of movement – 1

Defense in battle – 4

Attack in battle – 5

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Your opponents in between you and your goal of victory!

Robert E. Lee/James Longstreet

Known as one of America’s greatest commanders, General Robert E. Lee is known for many things in the Civil War but none more than reading the mind of his opponent! He had the incredible ability to know the United States battle plan before they ever moved. Therefore, his sneaky nickname was the “Grey Fox.” He was known to take risky chances on the battlefield and do the unexpected. With “Stonewall” Jackson as his right arm of battle and James Longstreet as his left arm of battle, Lee’s army had their way with almost any Northern army sent at it for the first 2 years of the war. Also, his cavalry commanded by General JEB Stuart was looked upon as the eyes of the army providing Lee with information about every movement the Northern army made. With the death of Jackson in May of 1863, Lee’s army never again had the leadership to win

the war. With Longstreet’s severe wounding and Stuart’s death in 1864, Lee held out for

a miracle until his army was worn out by a new general in the Eastern Theater, U.S. Grant.

With Grant came the end of the American Civil War. Known as “Lee’s Left arm” or his

“Old War Horse”, Longstreet was always with Lee and could be provided to deliver either

a crushing attack or defend against attacks as well as any general in either army. Although

he could be slow in moving his men at times, when he made it to the battlefield, his men

were Lee’s best soldiers. His attack at the Battle of 2nd Bull Run won the day for Lee’s

army, and his flanking attack on General Hancock at the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864

was one of the only times Union General Winfield Hancock tasted defeat on the battlefield.

Quickness in Movement – 3

Defense in battle – 5

Attack in battle – 5

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was looked upon as one of the greatest generals in American history. His men were known as “Jackson’s Foot Calvary” because of the incredible speed they marched. He drove his men to their physical limits and most of his men hated him for it. But they loved him for one thing: he gave them victories against all odds. Because he gave them smashing victories like at 1st and 2nd Bull Run, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, he was more popular than Robert E. Lee or U.S. Grant until his death in 1863. Although Jackson became world famous for his victories, his greatest moment occurred in his home of the Shenandoah Valley in 1862. Jackson knew every secret road and path in the valley and used it to move his fast marching men in 1862. With this he destroyed three Northern Armies in the Shenandoah Valley and marched to rejoin Lee in his destruction of McClellan. Because of the secret side of “Stonewall”, he could move his men at lightening speed and in total secrecy. No one but

Jackson ever knew where he was going at the time. With his wounding and death in May of 1863, Jackson passed into American history as one of the greatest and best military commanders of his time.

Quickness of movement – 5

Defense in Battle – 5

Attack in Battle – 5

JEB Stuart

Known as the eyes of Robert E. Lee’s Army, Stuart and his boys on horseback were fast riders and elegant in their dress. Known for wearing a redlined cape, ostrich-plumed feather in his hat and gold braid on his jackets and pants, Stuart was in charge of one of the best cavalry commands the county ever saw. They were quick to watch for enemy movements and provide Lee and Jackson with information about every movement the Northern army made. Thus, every move you make will be watched. Although his men are not known for fighting battles by themselves, they were popular. Stuart was known for his love for his love of the media and loved to see his name in the papers. He once rode all the way around General George McClellan’s Northern Army just to humiliate him. He also once rode in to the Northern Army’s camp and captured General John Pope’s uniform right out from under his nose. His love of the press also hurt

him as he rode around the Union Army before Gettysburg leaving Lee’s Army “blind”. Thus, Lee stumbled into his only major defeat of the war. In 1864 at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, JEB Stuart was shot and died that night. Lee said, “I can scarcely think of him without crying.”

Quickness in Movement – 5

Defense in Battle – 2

Attack in Battle – 2

John Magruder

“Prince” Magruder, as he was known, was an actor before the war started and was known for putting on a show with his sparkling uniform with a strange hat and white gloves. His men found him a loving commander who cared greatly for their health and well being. He was very crafty and sneaky and loved to try and outsmart the enemy. He was usually jolly and cracking jokes while having a passion for alcohol and uniforms created by him. It was his use of alcohol that ended his promising career early by President Davis shipping him out west away from the Eastern Theater.

Quickness of movement – 2

Defense in battle – 5

Attack in battle – 2

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