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JULY 1862:  THE FEDERAL EFFORT FALTERS

Many changes had taken place in the course of just one month. When June opened, the Federals were on the verge of conquering Richmond and ending the war. But their success ended by the beginning of July. The Confederacy was still on the brink of collapse, but a new southern hope was emerging.

Stonewall Jackson had become a legend for driving the Federals out of the Shenandoah Valley, and soon Robert E. Lee would become a legend for driving the Federals away from Richmond. All the while, discontent with the war effort began growing in the North.

The End of the Seven Days
The Seven Days’ Campaign that had begun in late June ended early this month. This campaign consisted of a series of battles in which General Robert E. Lee’s Confederates steadily drove General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac away from Richmond on the peninsula between the York and James Rivers.

On July 1, McClellan’s retreating Federals made a strong stand on Malvern Hill, and Lee’s disorganized Confederates could not break the Federal lines. By nightfall, the Confederates withdrew while McClellan continued his retreat to Harrison’s Landing on the James River.

Although most of the battles in the Seven Days’ Campaign were Federal victories, McClellan withdrew as if they were defeats, all the while pleading President Lincoln for reinforcements. Total Federal casualties in the campaign numbered 15,849 (1,734 killed, 8,062 wounded and 6,053 missing), which were less than the 20,141 casualties (3,286 killed, 15,909 wounded and 946 missing) sustained by Lee’s Confederates.

McClellan Clashes with the Lincoln Administration
General McClellan’s conduct during the Seven Days’ Campaign convinced many in Washington that he should be removed from command. McClellan exacerbated tensions by sending Lincoln the "Harrison’s Landing Letter," in which he offered unsolicited political advice. In particular, McClellan urged Lincoln to prevent slavery from interfering with military operations. This letter especially incensed the "Radical" Republicans in Congress, who pushed for the abolition of slavery and opposed McClellan, who was a Democrat.

Although Lincoln did not go so far as to remove McClellan from his command, he did reduce McClellan’s duties this month. Replacing McClellan as general-in-chief of all U.S. forces was General Henry W. Halleck. Halleck had commanded the Western Theater during the victorious Battle of Shiloh and the capture of Corinth. Nicknamed "Old Brains," Halleck was considered a sound military strategist and administrator.

The Second Federal Army in Virginia
McClellan’s duties had also been reduced in June when the Federal troops in northern Virginia were placed under the command of General John Pope. Organizing the scattered units in the region, Pope delivered a bombastic address to his new troops essentially accusing them of being weaker than western soldiers. The Federals were generally unimpressed with their new commander.

Pope issued controversial orders, such as holding civilians responsible for Confederate guerrilla raids and requiring all civilians to take a loyalty oath. Those refusing to take the oath could either have their property confiscated or face execution. These orders not only caused bitter resentment among otherwise compliant citizens, but they prompted the Confederate government to turn its full attention and resources to the threat that Pope was causing.

Once McClellan was rendered harmless at Harrison’s Landing, General Lee began sending portions of his Army of Northern Virginia north to deal with Pope. Confederate President Jefferson Davis informed Lee that Pope had changed "the character of the war, from such as becomes civilized nations into a campaign of indiscriminate robbery and murder." Davis ordered that any commissioned officers captured from Pope’s command be treated as felons rather than prisoners of war.

Important Federal Legislation
President Lincoln signed several key bills into law this month that not only broadened the war effort through increased expenditures, but also fulfilled the Republican Party platform on which he was elected. Laws directly related to the war effort included:

  • Raising Income Taxes – The Revenue Act of 1862 raised taxes to three percent on annual income between $600 and $10,000, and five percent on annual income over $10,000. This act also established a permanent tax collection agency and the Internal Revenue Commission, forerunner of the IRS.

  • Increasing Tariffs – Temporary protective tariffs were imposed on various items, including sugar, tobacco and liquor. The revenue collected from these tariffs was to be used for the war effort.

  • Requiring Loyalty Oaths – A new law required that every elected or appointed U.S. official take a loyalty oath.

  • In addition, Lincoln called on northern governors to provide another 300,000 men for the war effort, and Congress authorized distribution of the "Medal of Honor" for enlisted men who distinguished themselves in battle. 

Some new laws were not related to the war. These included:

  • Creating Railroads – The Pacific Railway Act created two railroads with the purpose of constructing a taxpayer-funded transcontinental railroad. This passed in accordance to the Republican agenda of using tax dollars to subsidize preferred businesses.

  • Banning Polygamy – The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act was an effort to suppress Mormonism in Utah Territory. The law prohibited polygamy and disincorporated the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This passed in accordance to the Republican agenda of combating the "twin sins" of polygamy and slavery. 

  • Land Grants – The Morrill Land Grant College Act provided 30,000 acres of land to the states to build agricultural and mechanical schools. This passed in accordance to the Republican agenda of giving lands away rather than selling them. This had been consistently opposed by southerners, who argued that land grants would devalue land already being cultivated.

The series of laws passed this month featured unprecedented federal spending of taxpayer money, even though much of the spending was not war-related. This began the trend of excessive government spending during wartime that continues today.

Southern Issues
The Confederate government began applying stricter enforcement methods to the conscription law recently enacted in an effort to increase manpower. Governors from Texas, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana wrote to President Jefferson Davis requesting military officers, money, arms and ammunition, for "without them we cannot use our strength, nor fully develop the mighty power of resistance that is in our midst."

In France, Emperor Napoleon III received Confederate commissioner John Slidell, who requested that France recognize the Confederacy as an independent nation. Slidell also requested aid from French warships in exchange for southern cotton.

On July 29, the Confederate cruiser Alabama left Liverpool, England for a trial run. Two days later, the Alabama proceeded into the Atlantic to receive arms and ammunition before beginning attacks on Federal shipping. Federal authorities in Britain had been trying for weeks to stop the Alabama from sailing.

The Fortress on the Mississippi
When General Halleck left the West to become general-in-chief of all U.S. forces, he was replaced as western commander by General Ulysses S. Grant. After his hard-fought victories in Tennessee, Grant’s next target was the city of Vicksburg, a nearly impregnable fortress on the Mississippi River.

Federal gunboats on the Mississippi continued the bombardment of Vicksburg that had begun in June. North of Vicksburg, the Federal fleet under Admiral David Farragut attacked the newly constructed ironclad CSS Arkansas in the Yazoo. The Federals withdrew after both sides suffered heavy damage; the presence of the Arkansas changed the complexion of warfare on the Mississippi.

The Kentucky Raids
In Kentucky, Confederate raider John Hunt Morgan became known as an effective guerrilla leader. Morgan’s cavalry routed the Federals at Tompkinsville and captured the town on July 9. Three days later, Morgan’s men captured Lebanon as fear spread to Frankfort, Lexington, Louisville and Cincinnati that Morgan could be coming. On July 17, Morgan’s raiders captured Cynthiana.

Morgan’s successful raid ended on July 22 when he and his men returned to Livingston, Tennessee. It was later learned that a Confederate telegraph operator had been intercepting most of the Federal dispatches for the past 12 days and sending them to Morgan, thus warning him of Federal movements beforehand.

Addressing Slavery
Up to this time, the official war purpose in Washington was to preserve the Union, not to interfere with slavery. But that was beginning to change. President Lincoln had resisted urgings from the Radical Republicans in Congress to free the slaves. This month, slavery was officially banned in all U.S. territories, but the Radicals pushed for more.

Lincoln reluctantly signed a Second Confiscation Act into law, which provided freedom to any slave in territories under Federal control. This also allowed the president to use slaves for the war effort and colonize them outside the country. Lincoln considered vetoing this measure because he thought it went too far, while the Radicals in Congress thought the measure did not go far enough. Many provisions were not enforced, and this began a political clash between the president and Congress that would continue throughout both the war and Reconstruction.

By the end of July, Lincoln had decided that the best way to win the war was to liberate slaves in rebellious states. He shocked his cabinet by reading a preliminary draft of what would become the Emancipation Proclamation on July 22. After discussing the draft, Lincoln followed Secretary of State William Seward’s advice to wait for a significant Federal military victory before issuing the final proclamation to the public.